


Thrown Amidst Monsters

by AllocateAloe



Series: Thrown Amidst Monsters [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Biting, Both Gaster and Sans are twats, Chapter 24 has non-con/rape elements, Dad W. D. Gaster, Dom Sans, Ecto-Tongue, Ecto-dick, F/M, Fight Scenes, Fingering, Flowey Is A Dick, Fluff, Gaster is a mysterious fucker, Gaster vs Sans fight, Gaster vs Sans jealousy, Graphic Scenes, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Minor Character Death, My writing can be rather graphic/intense, Plot, Plot Twists, Racism, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader ends up with Gaster, Rough Sex, Sans Has Issues, Saving Flowey into Asriel, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Smut, Soul Sharing, Swearing, Tags will update as we go, Violence, dom gaster, flowey is like a super shit lord, frisk is mute, reader is female, sans is a bit possessive, smut will be labeled with an (R) in title when we get there, started with sans and now we're here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-16 08:12:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 32
Words: 183,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5820904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllocateAloe/pseuds/AllocateAloe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life was going pretty steady for you with a stable job as a receptionist a few blocks away, an apartment to yourself with your cat Chip and a quiet lifestyle. Monsters had come out from the Underground a few months back and they've trickled in on your city as they fight for their legal rights amongst Humanity once more. </p><p>Politics always seemed to bring out the worst in some people, even your own co-workers, as monster hate groups started to swell within your community. You have managed to avoid them until recently where you are forced to take sides, when things begin to go south an unlikely skeleton comes to your rescue and you're soon thrown admist monsters.</p><p>With the threat of magic being banned, even criminal, you find yourself standing on the front lines with your new found friends and when things start heating up you have to find help in the most unorthodox of places.. and from the most peculiar of scientists.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my first fan fiction!  
> I have many, many years of writing practice but this is the first time i've explored fan fiction and reader insert.
> 
> Undertale has struck many cords with me and I am simply ecstatic to be able to write these characters and plop them into this plot which is quite extensive.
> 
> This is also a flower pot AU where Flowey, Frisk and the gang will all make very prevalent appearances the more we delve into things. There will be fluff, angst and violence but we will ease into that.
> 
> I've stocked up on chapters so I can slip them all out into a strong start-up collective. (each chapter is around 3-4 pages for easier tracking and reading)  
> I have no clear writing schedule /yet/ but will be sure to update you guys on when I get that hammered out.
> 
> Also, feel free to find me on tumblr:  
> AllocateAloe.Tumblr.com
> 
> Enjoy!

You groaned as your alarm went off beside you in bed, your cat had managed to partially lay on top of your pillow and thusly your face. You gave him an encouraging push which he mewled at before jumping off the bed and trotting down the hall, you managed to stop your alarm and sighed deeply knowing that if you laid there sleep would drag you back down and your boss warned you about being late just last week. You gathered yourself up from the warm sheets, cracking you back as you did so and stumbled to the front room, rubbing your face with one hand and adjusting your overly large tank top with the other.

Swiping the remote from the small table you punched the power button and tossed the remote back down as you swerved around to head into the kitchen, the sound was comforting as you went about your routine. The kitchen was small but had a stove, microwave, sink and decent cupboard space unlike your last apartment and the best part was you didn't have to share it with anyone. You even tried to spruce it up with a potted plant which sat pathetically off the side of the sink, for some reason it just struggled but then again you weren't really quite sure what kind of plant it was to begin with. It was viney with large leaves but always seemed a tad.. droopy.

 Groggily you managed to pad over to the fridge, gathering up the coffee creamer before trudging back to the counter. The coffee maker gurgled softly, you thanked yourself for getting a programmable machine so you wouldn't have to wait for it to brew, the aroma laid thickly in your apartment with the TV softly murmuring in the living room adjacent to the kitchen. You registered that it was some local news station but you didn't pay much attention to what was being said, it was normally just the same thing anyways, Monsters. You poured yourself a cup of coffee.

They had come to the surface a few months back led by a small child whose name escaped you, they were a human diplomat to the thousands of monsters who had already broken to the surface to make a new life. Though at first when you heard about monsters coming to the surface you thought it had been some sort of internet prank, like how people had believed there would be a double moon on new years. You chewed the inside of your cheek as you popped the cap to the creamer and dipped the carton gingerly, swirls of hazelnut clouds twirled in your cup and at first you were memorized by it until you snapped to attention and set the carton on the counter.

 

“Oh shit.. a little much..” you sighed, stirring your cup to a solid tan before putting the creamer back in the fridge with a yawn.

 Hoisting up the warm cup with both hands you made your way to the couch, some modest futon you carried through college with. The soft red fabric embraced you while you sat in a heap, your cat Chip had already been lounging on the far end by the window basking in the morning sun. You smiled at your companion and lightly ran a hand over his fur, he was just a grey tuxedo pattern but brought a lot of character to your flat and your life.

 

“Hey bud, still tired..?” he chirped lightly and you chuckled.

“Yeah, me too.”

 

The TV caught your attention as a picture of a man made purely of fire stood with his arms folded was thrown onto the screen, the anchor chatting away as you caught the tail end of his report.

 

_'A new local bar has opened downtown, the first monster owned establishment in the city, in the world actually!'_

Taking a drink of your coffee you ran your gaze over the creature, he was dressed in a soft white long sleeve and black vest. His entire body was made of fire yet somehow a pair of glasses sat just right where his eyes would have been and the top of his head swirled in soft licks of flame.

 

“Monsters are pretty cool right, Chip? Like.. how is he wearing clothes wouldn't they just.. burn off?” your cat didn't respond but you didn't check either. The screen panning back to the anchors as they chatted.

 

 _'That's right, Ted!'_ a blonde woman in her mid-30's interjected, _'Monster/Human negotiations are still developing but recently more laws and rights were laid out last Thursday allowing ownership, basic rights and a way to process our new citizens with social security numbers and get them logged into our system.'_

 

 _'Citizens? Heh.. yeah I suppose.'_ you scrunched your nose at his smirk.

 

Before his co-anchor could speak he quickly jumped back onto the story closing it out with, _'The monster's name is Grillby and so is his establishment's name “New Grillby's”.. wow these guys are sure creative.'_ Eugh what a shit eating grin that was, you took another drink.

 

 _'Actually Ted, the King of Monsters is in charge of naming locations back in the Underground so some still continue the tradition.'_ she was doing a bad job of hiding her glares, you appreciated it.

 

 _'Yeah, sure.'_ the image was waved off of the screen as they went over to an awkward weatherman whom quickly ran through the weeks forecast.

 

“Hmm.. New Grillby's.” you smiled to Chip who flicked his tail lightly and blinked to you, “We may have to visit sometime.. I've always wondered what monster food is like..” you glanced back to the TV, drinking down the rest of your coffee quickly as you noticed the time.

 Coughing down the last few drops you jumped up and ran into your room to get dressed for work, you let yourself get wrapped up with the broadcast but were determined to not be late again as you normally were on Monday's. You were already on thin ice with your boss and definitely did not want to start the week with yet another awkward talking to. Quickly you dressed, dorned your subtle makeup and pulled your hair out of your face into a messy clip, remembering to grab your empty coffee cup on the way out.

Rushing back out to the front room you turned the corner, turned off the coffee pot and looked at the sad little plant that tried to grow in your stuffy apartment and sighed. Rinsing out your cup you then filled it with water and poured it over the soil before setting it back into the sink, saying goodbye to Chip you shut off the TV and walked out the door being sure to lock it behind you. Your flat was humble and luckily the layout of the complex was nice, only two flats per floor and four floors in total. Your neighbors had moved out a few weeks ago and it had been peaceful.

 The walk to work was uneventful, you worked Reception at the small office a few blocks down so you didn't mind going to work on foot as the morning air had a certain smell to it and while you were far from a morning person it made the mornings much more tolerable.

You walked into the building, soft light and chatter filling the air and you quickly ducked behind the front desk, crossing your legs and booting up the computer to clock in. As you typed in your information voices brought your attention upwards to a few of your coworkers standing against your high set desk.

 

“You catch the news this morning?” Jared purred, grinning as he watched a reaction start to bubble up from Rob. You just rolled your eyes, knowing where this was going and finished clocking in before pulled up some spreadsheets.

 

“Ugh, god. Seriously we don't need any of them thinking they own everything.” Rob spat.

 

“It's not that big of a deal Robbie..” Jenny retorted. She was shorter than the two but you could still see her from the shoulders up. Jenny was a nice girl and mostly quiet but you could tell she had uncertainty about monsters despite her attempt to defend them.

 

“How would that be okay in fire code anyways? What about the automatic sprinklers in the ceiling wouldn't they just go off?” Jared started to chuckle as Rob splayed out his hands in agreement.

 

“Yeah! But you know whatever maybe they would go off and snuff em out!”

 

You shot the group a glare as Jenny timidly stepped back and went back to her desk, Jared called after her, “Oh come on, Jen! It's not like it's a human being or anything!”

 

“I'm surprised you can tell the difference.” You glared the two men down as they turned back to you with confusion, the residual grins leaving their lips.

 

“What do you mean?” Rob stood right up to the desk and matched your expression, he was tall and broad chested but it didn't phase you, his looming actually peeved you even more as the deep lines in his face pulled with his frown.

 

“I said, I'm surprised you can tell the difference between a monster and a human..”

 

Before he could respond you spat the punchline, “Since you must look at yourself each morning in the mirror annnd well.. with that mug of yours,” you tilted your head with a soft click in your cheek and grinned as Jared 'ooooh'd.

 

“Better watch it, Princess.” Rob glowered, “We didn't need monsters and we put them there for a reason, they should have just stayed there.. Just like how sassy receptionists don't get promoted because they know their place,” He leaned over the counter and murmured, “at the bottom of the food chain.”

 

With that he sauntered off, Jared on his heels and you snarled inwards. Leaning back against your chair your fingers punched the keys before you as you continued to work on the spreadsheet, thinking of enough comebacks to drown Rob's ego.

 

****

 

Lunch came and went, you were still too pissed off to really pay attention to the time and had emails to sort through between answering the phone and directing clients. Your concentration was broken around 2:00 pm when Jenny sat a container and a drink beside you, smiling softly.

 “I know you didn't get a chance to eat yet so I grabbed you something from that Deli you like.” her voice was soothing kind of like an older sister.

You sighed softly and thanked her, looking over at the container you popped the lid off on a chicken caesar salad and began to dig in, you hadn't realized you forgot to eat this morning and maybe ate a little too angrily as Jenny cleared her throat.

 

“Hey.. I saw Rob was starting to get.. well.. himself. I don't like to listen to all that negativity and I don't know why Jared pushes him so much..” she trailed off as she looked back over the lobby to the window. You followed her gaze as a rather large, exuberant skeleton bounded by and was yelling something over his shoulder. Behind him trailed a smaller skeleton in a rather large blue hoodie, a soft smile on his face as he strode by the building. He glanced back inside at you two as he passed, his white pupils landed on you and he paused for a moment before winking and continued to walk. You quickly looked away, your face feeling hot as you felt bad for staring so blatantly. Eugh that was rude..

“I've seen those two around recently I think they just moved to this part of the city..” Jenny leaned into your desk with her arms folded, noticing your embarrassment she giggled lightly, “I find myself staring too sometimes, I know it's bad but I guess we still just need to get used to it don't we..?”

 

You nodded slowly, grinning back up to your friend as she went on to tell you about her clients and you ate in peace.


	2. The Brothers Appear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The skeleton brothers make their appearance and so does your co-workers extreme monster racism.. what a combo!

The rest of the day went nicely, it was just the last three hours anyways after your chat with Jenny had ended. You finished your work and sat quietly at your desk, checking social media absentmindedly until the clock ran out. You waved as people started leaving and found yourself standing up to leave, having shut down the computer and wheeled out from behind the desk and found Rob standing before you. You couldn't help but feel that fire from earlier crashing down on you.

 

“You aren't really a monster lover are you?” the question was direct and your expression tensed.

 

“W-what.. ?” you turned sharply to the man, astonished.

 

“I saw that monster thing give you a look earlier, monsters are trouble they just came to the surface to take everything and make things complicated.” He was sneering, what the hell you didn't even really know Rob and he never had really spoken directly to you before this morning.

 

“No, Rob. People like _you_ make things complicated. Live and let live, right?” you didn't even want to continue the discussion and turned to walk out the door when he followed you. You could feel his body heat press into your back as your strode and flung open the doors.

 

“You know those things killed humans right? Killed _people_ , killed _kids_. How can you defend that?!” the evening air filled your lungs as you spun around and sized him up on the side of the street, your anger was boiling and about to explode at this point you didn't bother checking your volume.

 

“Humans kill other humans and I don't see you bothered by that, Robert!” he went to throw a retort but you waved your hand and spun back around.

 

“No. I'm not having this discussion, Goodnight.” you suddenly were grabbed by your arm and stumbled backwards as he pulled you back.

 

“Listen here, Bitch-" you jerked your head back and yelped.

 

“Let me GO!” You shrieked but as you looked behind you the small skeleton from earlier was standing there, his bony fingers digging into Rob's arm with such tightness you could see his flesh being forced to give right down to the bone.

 A low voice broke the stillness of the situation, a soft accent dipped into his words as the skeleton spoke and looked directly up to Rob who must have stood another foot taller than the both of you.

 

“buddy, i'd let go if I were you.”

 You saw Rob's facial expression change from anger, to nervous fear but then it bounced back into rage as he slowly released his grip on you and allowed you to jerk away from him, spinning around to face him as you did so. Rob shook his arm free of the skeleton who merely slid his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and continued to keep eye contact with the violent man.

 

“I fucking knew you were a monster lover” Rob hissed before turning back into the building and you let out a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding. Grabbing at your wrist you softly rubbed the skin and noticed soft red marks where his grip had been.

 

“you okay, kid?” you made a soft grunt as he turned to look at you.

 He was a tad shorter than you, that same smile from earlier plastered over his face and even though his eye sockets seemed tired his bright pupils brushed gently as they moved over your expression, it showed a sort of sincerity.

 

“Y-yeah.. T-thanks.. uhm..”

 “SANS!” a loud voice made you jump as a large skeleton came running from the other side of the street, you hadn't even noticed him standing there and even now a few people here and there had begun to continue their walk and disperse. A flush ran into your face, had everyone been watching?

 

“hey papyrus.”, he swiveled in his slippers as the large skeleton loomed before the both of you, he made you feel rather small.

 “YOU CAN'T JUST GO GRABBING HUMANS THEY DON'T LIKE THAT.”

 “ok.”

 “YOU CAN'T JUST DISSAPEAR LIKE THAT EITHER.”

 “ok.”

 “I'M SERIOUS! WHAT IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN AND I, YOUR DEAREST BROTHER AND GREATEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, PAPYRUS! WERE NOT THERE TO HELP?”

 “it's okay Pap, I got it.”

 As the two bantered you stood there a bit awkwardly, the large skeleton 'Papyrus' was rather loud and overbearing yet you couldn't help but to smile as the two spoke. There was a deep bond there and it was clear to you.

 

“OH, HUMAN!” you flinched as your gaze went up towards the larger skeleton. He was in a hoodie himself but it was orange as well as a pair of faded jeans and grey shoes.

 “IS YOUR ARM OKAY? YOU HAVEN'T STOPPED TOUCHING IT. DID THAT OTHER HUMAN HURT YOU?”

 Sans also cast a look towards you as you looked down at your arm and turned it over, the red marks would last for a few more minutes and you felt tender but it wouldn't bruise, “I'm all right, a little shocked, but I'm okay.”

 

The words tumbled out of you before you could contain them, “I didn't think he would snap like that on me.. I knew he doesn't like talkin-” you paused, choosing a better word before continuing, “Talking about politics.”

 Sans chuckled, bringing your attention back up to the skeleton. It was a deep, short and hearty sound which also made you smile.

 

“politics? It's all right pal, I know he was talkin' about monsters.”

 

“I.. uh..” you were caught. “Yeah.. Thank you, again. I-i mean it, that got ugly fast.. I'll be sure to report it to the boss when I get home..” The ridge above his eye socket raised slightly as he stared at you, “I don't really like standing here.”

 

“WELL COME THEN HUMAN WE WILL ESCORT YOU HOME!” Papyrus grinned and took the lead suddenly waltzing in front of you.

 

Sans' grin spread slightly, “Paps, we don't know where she lives.”

 

“Uh, i-it's okay actually I'm just a few blocks in that direction..” You smiled back to Sans and walked after Papyrus after Sans took a step forward, you formally exchanged names as you went ahead.

 The walk home was nice, comforting and the three of you shared some laughs.. okay more like you and Sans exchanged some bad jokes and Papyrus groaned but you could have sworn there was a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

 Coming up to the entrance of your complex Papyrus sounded out, making you jump a bit.

 

“OH, HUMAN! YOU LIVE IN THE SAME PLACE THAT ASGORE'S CLONE AND THE SMALL HUMAN AND FLOWEY LIVE IN!” you blinked up at him.

 

“we had some friends of ours move into the third floor today, we've been helping them settle in.” Sans explained.

 

Your blinking became rapid as you looked over to Sans, “I live on the third floor..”

 

“WELL LET'S GO INTRODUCE OUR NEW HUMAN FRIEND TO OUR OLD HUMAN FRIEND!” Papyrus sauntered through the door and you quickly followed as your curiosity got the better of you. The both of you seemed to glide over the stairs while sans lingered behind, you and papyrus leaned over the railing and looked down at the small skeleton as he meandered on up.

 

“COME ON YOU LAZYBONES WE HAVE ALREADY BEATEN YOU TO THE TOP!”

 

“pap please you're killing me.”

 

“GET THOSE BONES SHAKING!”

 

“I cant..” he climbed a few more, now just one more flight behind.

 

“WHY NOT!?” papyrus was exasperated at this point, his hands gripping the railing.

 

“they're just.. so _bone_ tired,” he wheezed for emphasis.

 

“NOPE. I'M DONE. I'M LEAVING WITHOUT YOU.” and with that Papyrus strode down the hallway to the door opposite of yours.

 

You waited patiently for sans at the top and grinned down at him as he overcame the last few steps, he winked at you, “what?”

 

A small flush graced your face as you giggled, “You like teasing him, don't you?”

 

“tibia honest?” your giggles made his grin strengthen, “ulna a little.”

 

You both turn your attention back down the hallway as you walked side by side to the now open door, a small child poked their head from the door frame and waved wildly to the both of you before rushing out towards Sans, behind them stepped a rather large goat-like woman. She had soft, doe like eyes and a regal dress with an interesting seal on the chest.

 “Hello, dear..” her voice was gentle, nurturing and as the kid gave Sans a hug they signed something quickly before rushing back into the room. You met the woman at the door and introduced yourself, finding out her name was Toriel and she also introduced Frisk who was guiding Papyrus on moving some furniture, he was surprisingly strong for how lanky he was.

 

It suddenly clicked that this was the child who led the monsters to the surface and the realization must have been obvious as both Toriel and Sans chuckled, “They may look small but Frisk has a mountain of Determination.”

 Yeah. Apparently. You felt a little out of place but Toriel gently put a hand on your shoulder and invited you in, you explained you lived across the hall and struck up a conversation about work. Toriel was trying to get her teaching certificate from the government but currently was just looking after Frisk as their Mother, you didn't pry any farther than that as you figured it would be best to save that topic for another time. But then the conversation turned back to your work and you sheepishly explained you were a receptionist for a firm down a few blocks and that's when you ran into Sans and Papyrus outside.

 

“Y-yeah.. Robert, someone I work with, he gets kind of.. riled and I didn't want to listen to his rambling but when I turned to go home he had.. grabbed me.”

 Toriel looks surprised and genuinely concerned as her face softened.

 

“no worries, pap and I scared the creep off,” Sans rolled his shoulders in a light shrug.

 

“Yeah, that was pretty lucky.. anyways they offered to walk me back and apparently it's.. well it's a small world, isn't it?” you grinned a bit awkwardly. She merely nodded and invited you for dinner which you would have passed up if it wasn't for your stomach gurgling and giving you away.


	3. Something's Not Right With That Flower..

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with the skeletons, Toriel, Frisk and Flowey.
> 
> Could this get more awkward? Why are they glaring at each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes everyone's favorite Flower.  
> Although San's seems more like a rock kind of guy.

Everyone gathered around the table as Toriel turned her back into the kitchen to gather the meal which smelled to be tomato based, Frisk ran up with a flower pot in their hands and sat it down in the spot besides them before taking a seat right across from you. Sans sat beside you and Papyrus was at the other end of the table with an open spot for Toriel at the opposite. The yellow flower seemed to study you for a moment and you waved softly though Sans seemed to be staring the creature down.

“Howdy, I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower,” it lightly swayed in it's pot as you watched it.

 “Gosh it must be so confusing for you to live in a world where these bums now inhabit the Earth.." the Flower kept smiling but you had dropped yours.

 “you sure do talk a lot for a weed.” you glanced to sans his pupils locked onto the plant even though papyrus was scowling at him.

 “You sure are fat for a guy who has no flesh!” Frisk wildly started to sign but stopped as Toriel walked back into the room and set down everyone's plates piled up with spaghetti, the plates looked expertly plated with plenty of pasta but you couldn't help but notice Papyrus' had a little more than everyone else. You grinned as you saw his eyes light up.

 “AH! I SEE YOU HAVE SEEN THE WAYS OF EXCELLENTLY COOKED PASTA! THE ONLY TRUE ARTISAN MEAL TO BE HAD!” his loud demeanor made you giggle and Toriel also did so. You think she would be blushing if that white fur didn't cover her features.

 “Why Thank you Papyrus, I'm very happy it is up to your standards.” she chimed over the two monsters, Sans and Flowey, glaring each other down. This must be a common occurrence.

 “NYEH HEH HEH! MY STANDARDS ARE VERY GREAT BUT YOU'VE DONE EXCELLENTLY.”

 

You, Frisk and Sans thanked her gratefully as she passed by to head back into the kitchen to make her own plate, while Flowey just continued to stare at you but made sure Toriel had left the room again before turning back to Sans and snarled as a noodle careened and landed into his pot. Sans had used his fork as a catapult to launch his assault at the flower.

 “Hey! You idiot! What are you doing?!” the flower sneered.

 “SANS REALLY” Papyrus leaned over to his brother with a scowl.

 “i don't know what you're talking about” Sans twirled up some pasta as Papyrus continued to chastise him.

 You looked across from you and gave Frisk a very confused look to which they signed some things but your confusion just grew and instead they paused and dramatically shrugged with both hands out to either side. San's noticed your inability to understand sign language and translated for you.

 “kiddo here says that weeds hardly have a stem to stand on when it comes to insults,” he said it blankly while looking at the Flower who started to quiver with anger.

 Clearly that wasn't exactly what Frisk had meant, signing fervishly with a scowl that matched Papyrus'. The tension was thick and you weren't quite sure what to do or say, an awkward smile tugged at your lips as the Flower started .. hissing. Yes, hissing at the skeleton.

 Before things could escalate Toriel came back in and sat down herself, seemingly oblivious to the turmoil or tension as everyone just started to eat so you followed suite. This was weird, Sans seemed like a laid back guy and you didn't understand the animosity between the two. Keeping your thoughts to yourself you all ate in peace yet you avoided Flowey's gaze, it was harsh yet curious and you couldn't help but feel like some kind of side show attraction that both intrigued and disgusted him.

On the plus side the meal itself was simply divine, sweet yet savory sauce and you could tell Papyrus was into it. After dinner you helped clean everything up at the table but Papyrus beat you to take the dishes into the kitchen, Toriel encouraged you both to go relax as they left into the kitchen. You wandered to the family room, checking your phone quickly, it was eight thirty.

 

Glancing back up again you jumped as Sans was suddenly in front of you, his back to the table and you could see Flowey giving the skeleton all sorts of faces behind his back even as Frisk picked up the pot and brought it into the kitchen where you heard Toriel and Papyrus washing up.

 “wanna swap digits?” you nodded and gave him your phone in which he plucked his own from his pocket and flipped it gently into his palm before handing it to you. You were unsure of your relationship with the skeleton so you put in your first name a last initial, when you got your phone back you noticed Sans had put his name as 'sans ;)' and kind of regretted not putting something slightly silly instead.

 “So, what was that about..? Who is that?” you tried to keep your voice hush as Sans pocketed his phone and led you into the living room. He plopped down onto the couch while you sat in the love seat adjacent to him.

 “flowey.” he stated.

 “Heh, obviously. I can see you like teasing them too..?” that was a light way to put it.

 Sans glanced around a bit before holding out his hand, his index finger and thumb an inch away from each other, his grin curdled devilishly.

 “the kid had us go back to the Underground to get him, not sure why.. Although paps knows him too.” the skeleton ran the raised hand over his skull, the soft clinking of bone on bone was an odd sound, “he's harmless now though.”

Harmless now..? You wanted to press further but you started to sense Sans shutting himself off from the topic and instead brought up the next thing in your mind, “So I heard there's a new monster run bar downtown..?”

You cringed, did that come off a bit racist? Just because Sans was a monster he couldn't know all monsters. Whoops.

 “New Grillby's?” he turned his attention back to you as he spoke, you relaxed a bit as the skeleton nodded.

“Grillbz and I go back.”

 “I actually wanted to try it sometime..” he raised his brow at you.

 “really” it was more of a statement than a question.

 “Y-yeah..” you fidgeted with your hands, “I always kind of wondered what monster food is like.. and after Toriel's cooking tonight I'd love to try more.”

 “heh heh, yeah Grillbz makes the best burgs and fries.”

You thought it kind of interesting that monsters made very American style food but then remembered that they were once on the surface with humans and that taste was obviously shared between races, you decided to not comment on it and instead turned when Papyrus came back into the room.

 “THE QUEEN SAYS THAT WE HAVE FINISHED MOVING EVERYTHING IN AND WE DID AN EXCELLENT JOB!” he was beaming and you could hear Toriel call out from the back of the apartment that she's not the Queen anymore and to just call her Tori.

 “AH, YES, THE TORI SAYS WE HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB!”

 You giggled and noticed Sans was looking at you as you laughed, you winked at him and a soft blue hue crept into his cheeks as he quickly looked away. You finally got him back from earlier and yet his reaction in of itself made you feel giddy inside.

 You stood as Toriel came back into the room, thanking the skeletons once more for their help before turning to you.

 “It was lovely meeting you, dear,” she was genuine with her words which brought a smile to your lips. She was so gentle and nurturing it made you wonder if she had been bothered by the tension earlier.. that was something you'd have to get to the bottom of one day.

 You spoke up, “It was really nice to meet you too, all of you.”

 Papyrus beamed at your comment, “WE SHOULD ALL HAVE SPAGHETTI AGAIN SOON! IT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER!” you caught a sideways glance Paps gave to his brother whom merely shrugged under his gaze.

 Toriel chuckled lightly, “Yes we should. Frisk and Flowey are getting ready for bed but we can discuss another get together tomorrow.. I will be sure to call you Papyrus.”

 Toriel softly spoke your name, turning your full attention to the motherly goat woman. “You are always welcome here too. If you need anything do not be afraid to ask.”

 “Of course! If you need anything I'm just right across the way too..” she nodded and thanked you while filed out of the flat and into the hallway with the brothers.

 Once in the hallway you went to your door and looked to find the brothers standing there, before you could say goodnight Papyrus had scooped you up into a hug.

 “I'M GLAD WE GOT TO MEET YOU TODAY HUMAN!”

You wheezed and laughed airily as he set you back down, patting his arm, “It was nice to meet you too, Papyrus.”

 “if you need anything kiddo just send us a text.” sans quipped.

 You nodded and watched them go down the hall before reaching out and spoke up, ”Are you guys okay to walk home at night..?”

 They turned and Sans nodded, “yeah.”

 “WE ONLY LIVE A SHORT STROLL AWAY! THE NIGHT IS NO MATCH FOR PAPYRUS!”

 You smiled, remembering how Sans had been on Robert a few hours before and felt kind of silly for asking, “All right then! I-i'll text you. Goodnight, guys.”

 Sans gave a soft wave of his hand before they made their way down the stairs, you walked into your apartment to see Chip in the exact same spot at this morning and playfully glared at him. Going to the bathroom to shower, change and slip into bed. While you laid there your thoughts drifted back to work, the oddity of feeling as if you've made such good friends with monsters within a mere few hours contrasted with your rather lonely life. It had just been you in this apartment for a few months, and room mates that you used to have were not the greatest company.

 Jenny was nice, and had come over a few times but slowly you had stopped going out with her as much. Sometimes you just liked to be by yourself with Chip in the flat, watching netflix or playing video games. The silence, the alone time made it easier to recharge your batteries yet sometimes the loneliness did get a bit suffocating so you and Jen would go out with other people from work for drinks or dinner sometimes, even Robert would come to and when you avoided talking about monsters he was just a loud, overgrown kid.

 Your gut flipped as you remembered Robert and quickly turned on your phone, sending a quick email to your boss about what had happened and locked your screen, letting it rest on your chest as you stared at the ceiling. God, that guy was a real prick. Was it smart to even go to work tomorrow..? It was kind of late but hopefully your boss would let you know before you had to be at work, so there was no point in worrying about it right now.

 It was so lucky that Sans had been in the area moving things for Toriel otherwise.. you shuddered at the thought. Sans. Your thoughts trailed to the skeleton, his soft smile and the way he held himself as if he had just woken up. He slouched yet there was something powerful within him, in his eyes he flipped between a high intensity focus and a relaxed, laid back vibe that made it so easy to just open up to him. He was funny, kind of charming in a way.

 You rolled onto your side, phone in front of your face as you stared off at the wall you felt Chip jump onto the mattress and putz on over to you, curling up in the bend behind your knees he licked his paws. It had been you and Chip for years, you had only really opened up to your cat but the way you just blurted things out to Sans was uncharacteristic and now that you had noticed you felt flush and grabbed your pillow as you buried your face into it. How embarrassing. You hoped he didn't find you obnoxious or strange..

 Your phone softly buzzed before you, slowly drawing your head up you grabbed the phone and slightly twisted your torso to look at the screen of your phone expecting to see an email from your boss but it was a text from sans.

 

 _'_ ***** _knock knock.'_

 Your eyebrows furrowed yet a smirk pulled at your lips, your fingers tapping the screen.

_'Who'se there?'_

 ' ***** _orange_ '

 ' _Orange who.. ?_ ', you found it kind of funny that he purposefully had lowercase letters and an asterisk before each sentence.

 ' ***** _orange you glad I didn't say banana?'_

 You laughed a little harder than you should have, the joke was so stupid.. but maybe that's what made it so great. You quickly got an idea and jotted into the text box.

 ' _Oh man.. who ever invented knock knock jokes should get the no-bell prize.'_

 You sent it, giggling at your own stupid pun yet it took a moment for a response to come in.

 ' ***** _wow what a real rib tickler'_

 

 “PFT!” you sunk further into the sheets as you both shot each other terrible jokes for a few more minutes before sleep overcame you. A smile stained upon your lips for the first time in a long time.

 


	4. Caught on Camera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The confrontation last night was caught on the security camera, which is a good thing right..?

As your alarm rang off you found it harder to open your eyes than usual, your body stretching and as you went to yawn you didn't get air and instead only got a mouthful of dusty tasting fur. You quickly coughed and pushed Chip off of your face who gave a mewl of protest, sitting up you placed him at your side and spluttered while wiping cat hair off of your features.

 “Euugh Chip are you serious?” your alarm kept ringing as you attempted to spit out cat hair but instead were forced to grab strands off of your tongue with one hand while grabbing your phone with the free one. Turning off your alarm you checked your phone and found your usual work related emails but mainly a response from your boss. Your heart skipped a beat as you remembered last night and tentatively opened it up.

 ' _That's rather serious accusation, but for now he's been put on suspension while we investigate, see you soon.'_

 You frowned, hoping to get more information than that but it must mean your boss wanted to speak with you in person and in private when you got there. You yawned and rubbed your face one last time before getting up out of bed and going to the living room, turning on the TV and going to the kitchen your heart sunk as you saw the empty coffee maker. You had been so caught up in last night your routine completely fell out of order and forgot to prep, you had no choice at this point you had to just get coffee on your way to work.

 Grunting you went back into your room to change and get ready, it didn't take you long and the TV was going on about some monster hate group spearheaded by some local. The TV had protesters plastered all over the screen before you managed to turn the screen off with a huff, for some reason it made you feel all the more unsettled as you imagined sans or even the light hearted papyrus having to face these types of people.

 “Funny how they call monsters primitive, humans are the savage ones..” Chip chirped at you as he pranced into the room to jump up onto the couch where you gave him a light scratch under his chin before snagging your keys and leaving the apartment, locking it behind you as you stepped into the hall a soft sweet smell wafted from your neighbors. It was buttery, and smelled so delicious.

 “Ugh, she can make croissants too..?” your mouth watered yet you didn't want to be a bother so instead you headed down the stairs to the street to go to work.

 On the way to work you stopped by a street cart to buy some coffee and a treat. The vendor was a blue rabbit looking monster, he grinned so sweetly and had such a calming energy you thanked him and tipped a five dollar bill before continuing on your way. While the coffee cake was no where near the same delicacy as what you smelled a few minutes earlier it did the trick to quell your craving.

 

It wasn't long before you entered the building, tossing the empty crumb filled paper bag into the garbage and setting your half full coffee cup and phone on the desk beside you. You booted the computer and clocked in, waving hello to Jenny and a few other coworkers that filed in for the day.

 The morning hours flew by rather well, a steady flow of clients and phone calls made you zone into your work. Until your phone let out a soft buzz against the wood beside you, embarrassingly it startled you enough you had to laugh lightly at yourself and as you opened up your cell phone you set it to silent before pulling up a new text message which was from Sans.

  _' ***** morning'_

 You scrunched your face up as you checked the time, it was 1:30 pm.

 ' _Uh, it's midday bone boy.. 1:30.'_

 ' ***** _nah'_

  _'Pft what do you mean?'_

  _'_ ***** _it's actually 1:32.'_

 You smirked, purposefully waiting a few minutes and as you typed your response the skeleton had beaten you to the punch.

  _'_ ***** _I mean 1:35.'_

  _'Hey I was going to say that!_

  _'_ ***** _;)'_

  _'_ ***** _so'_

  _' ***** grillby's tonight?'_

 

 Your smirk faded into a soft smile, a soft fluttering in your chest as you lightly chewed the inside of your cheek (an increasingly bad habit) was he asking you on a date? Nah don't be so stupid, he probably just wanted to be nice. You started to type in your response when the office phone went off and you quickly picked up the phone, nailing your introduction and waited for a reply.

 “It's me.” It was your boss, your face felt hot as you checked the caller ID and felt slightly stupid for not looking before speaking.

 “Hey, I need you to come see me before you leave for lunch.” you nodded as your gut only twisted further. You really didn't want to talk about what had happened but had no choice.

 “Y-yeah I'll be there, Thanks Alison,” you hung up the phone and stood. Placing your cellphone in your pocket as you did so. Black slacks were nice like that to actually be functional yet professional. You strode around the desk and headed to the back of the building, passing a few offices before running into Jenny as she stepped out of hers.

 “Oh! Hey, I was going to ask if you wanted to grab some lunch?” she smiled sweetly and you returned it.

 “Ali wanted to talk to me real quick before I go, I'll just meet you there?”

 You noticed her curiosity and continued, “Just something about the spreadsheets nothing big, don't worry I wont be long.”

 She accepted your excuse happily and you went past each other. You came to your boss' door which was open so you carefully went in, Alison was sitting at her desk. She was an older, heavier set woman and while she was very work oriented she could have her moments of soft sincerity and even helped you find your flat when you needed to move out from your old place.

 

“Shut the door would you, please?” her voice was gruff but you knew it's just how she was.

 You complied before taking a seat in front of the desk, the leather of the chair scrunched beneath you causing you to shift uncomfortably as she scrolled through some document on her computer before pulling up a video and turned her screen towards you. It was a still shot of black and white, the angle was from high up and looked down at Robert's back, you in mid turn and Sans with his bony hand clearly gripping onto Robert's arm. The skeleton's eyes were pitch black and it sent a shiver down your spine, why didn't he have eyes? It must have just been the quality, right..? But the bones in his hands were so visible surely so would his eyes..

 “Turns out you weren't joking, I'm upset with Robert for grabbing you but do you know this.. monster?” she tapped the screen with one of her french tip nails at the skeleton.

 “Here, hold on one second.” she clicked backwards through the feed and you could see sans and Papyrus across the street as you stepped outside, Sans was watching even before you started to shout. He was the only one on the street to even notice you leaving the building with Rob as not even Papyrus was taking note he just strolled along easily with the flow of traffic.

 “He seemed to have noticed you or recognized you here..” then Alison clicked forward a bit where he suddenly was standing there gripping onto Robert within a mere few frames, Papyrus hardly noticed.

 “Then he used magic to suddenly appear over here.”

 You sat at the edge of your seat, your eyes wide with confusion as Alison tapped the screen once more to Sans new location. Could he.. teleport? His voided eyes drew you in again, it was .. unsettling.

 “Now.. I don't know if this is lucky or not but I know the government is working on some new laws that state we would have to report any use of magic,” you stared across the table at her, suddenly looking scared.

 “H-he helped me though!” she shushed you by pushing an open palm to you.

 “Relax, hun. It's not been decided on yet as it's still being processed. I don't really like paperwork so I am on the side of not reporting this..” she moved the screen back to it's normal position and closed out of the video footage.

 “But.. it has proof of Robert grabbing me..?”

 “Well that's when I have to ask something of you..” she turned to you in her chair, “If we just give him some suspension time he should cool down enough. I told him to leave you alone too. It's just like punishment from the inside.. we don't report anything.. no news stations and no stances on monster political bullshit.”

 You continued to just stared at her.

Was she really asking you to keep quiet about what happened..? Just because she didn't want to take a stance on monsters?

 

“Listen, hun. Monster politics are a bit too much for such a small firm to handle. We don't need that kind of attention and honestly I don't really care about monsters one way or the other,” she shrugged and you felt a weight in your stomach.

 “Robert is off for a few days and I feel that's enough time. You can go to lunch now, just remember to clock back in when you get back” and with that she turned away from you to her computer. You kind of just sat there for a moment before standing up and walking out of the room, allowing the door to close behind you.

 It didn't feel right. You walked out to the front door to meet Jenny at the cafe next door to eat and while she didn't comment on your solemn expression your turkey sandwich gave you a good excuse to not speak. Though with Jenny it was easy to throw a question her way and listen to her praddle on. You both finished up and went back to work. Sitting at the desk in a daze you simply stared at the screen after logging your lunch, thinking back to seeing Sans on the camera feed. He had teleported to you, used magic in public without as much as a single thought behind it. Maybe he was just a good guy.. observant..

But those eyes.. That's what Robert must have seen to react in such a way. He was scared if only for a few moments but that fear made him even angrier, the underlying and ultimate truth was that he was afraid of monsters. That notion settled oddly with you, it was hard to understand hatred of that caliber. Monsters could hate Humanity, maybe some do, but the majority just want to coexist, right?

 You wondered what Sans thought about that.

 

Oh shit, you forgot to respond to him.

Quickly you pulled your cellphone from your pocket and opened up your unsent draft quickly deleting it and replaced it with a quick heart felt apology and said that it would be nice to go out tonight. You knew you needed a drink after today.

 He responded almost immediately.

  _'_ ***** _its cool. everything ok?'_

  _'Yeah I'm all right. My boss just wanted to talk to me about the other night and I spaced.'_

  _'_ ***** _what did they say'_

  _'Well. She showed me camera footage of last night and she didn't want to report it.'_

  _'_ ***** _wait. why..?'_

 You bit the inside of your cheek rather sharply, hesitating for a bit. You decide it's better to just say the truth, it wasn't like it was hard to talk to Sans.

 ' _The camera caught you.. teleporting? Or something. And there's some law under way saying anything like that caught on tape has to be recorded and documented and she didn't want to deal with it for some.. political reason.'_

 You thought for a second before continuing in a new message.

  _'Robert got suspended for a few days so I guess he is getting punished so it should work out all right.'_

 It took awhile for the skeleton to reply, _'_ ***** _when is he supposed to come back to work '_

 The question perplexed you, you had thought he would be more concerned with his magic use and not actually Robert.

  _'I guess maybe Thursday? Maybe Friday?'_

 _'It's okay, he doesn't scare me or anything.'_ okay that was a bit of a fib and you cringed a little as you typed it but you didn't want to worry him, so much for your honesty policy. Besides, you had worked with Robert for awhile now and he may be pushy but he wouldn't dare pull a stunt like that again especially at work.

 You were pulled from your thoughts at his next message, ' ***** _ok'_.

 

..Okay? Really? What did that even mean..?

You scrunched up your face, unsure of how to respond to something like that and decided to set your phone aside and think before replying. That thinking turned into another spaced out session as you responded to emails and directed phone calls for the rest of the day.


	5. Savages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After that meeting with your boss you could really use a drink.
> 
> Who invited all these people outside though?

Work ended before you knew it, you clocked out, straightened up your desk and stood to leave with a heavy sigh. Man, what a day. You looked to turn out from around your desk and let out a soft shriek and stepped back as a grinning skeleton stood there before you, hands in his jacket. He was wearing the same thing as yesterday.

 “W-what, Sans?” you placed a hand over your heart and caught your breath.

“How the hell did you do that I didn't even see you come in! I'm so sorry!”

 He seemed to enjoy seeing you flustered as he merely chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

 “i took a shortcut.” he stated.

 “What-? Oh.. you can teleport..” you cleared your throat and straightened yourself with a grin.

 “i figured it would be easier to just go straight to new grillby's from here.”

 “Oh, yeah! Let's get going, drinks sound great right about now..” he stepped back and allowed you to exit from behind the desk as you both walked to the door Jenny called out your name from behind but her voice suddenly caught in her throat. You both turned to look at the pale and nervous girl.

 “Hey, Jen. This is Sans, he's uh.. a skeleton..” he lifted a hand lightly from his jacket in a lazy wave, she just kept staring. Awkward. You could tell she didn't know much about monsters, but she actually looked a little scared of Sans and that started to bother you though Sans didn't seem to care as he slid his hand back into his jacket.

 “We're.. uh, going out for drinks-” as you spoke she finally broke from her daze and waved at you.

 “Oh! Okay yeah I'll see you tomorrow!” she then quickly ducked back into her office, even though the lights were already off.

 You smiled sheepishly at Sans who merely shrugged as you both stepped outside into the evening, the words tumbled from you as you walked down the sidewalk side by side.

 “S-sorry about that.. she seemed a little.. spooked.. But she's generally really nice.”

 “heh, forgetaboutit. i'm a skeleton after all.. it's natural for us to rattle a few bones.” he winked at you as a giggle resonated through your chest.

 As you walked he continued to string out jokes one after the other, it left you light headed from laughing so much but also set you at ease. Sans' was just good company, his energy was so relaxed it made it so easy to just slide into a rhythm with him. Laughter is the best form of therapy after all, or so you had heard.

 

Soon you were both walking up to a modest establishment with an orange neon sign outside that read, 'New Grillby's' in a soft light that reminded you of a cozy fire place. Sans opened up the door and gestured for you to go in ahead of him, as you stepped into the bar you were embraced in a soft orange glow and noise of people laughing and talking with music lightly playing in the background, there was a good flow of patrons today of both monster and human alike but only a few of them mixed together. The further you stepped in the warmer it got but yet it was comforting, you passed a table of dogs playing poker and glanced over them as you strode on by. They were good at giving each other neutral faces but you could tell who had the better hand by how hard whose tail was wagging.

Sans passed you by a few steps and sat up at the bar, grinning over his shoulder at you as you sat next to him. A group across the room was laughing heartily and the mood blanketed you, something caught your eye and you looked forward to be met by the man of fire. You recognized him immediately from the television a few days earlier yet seeing him in person memorized you. He was broader chested and dressed just as he was on the broadcast. In a black vest, white undershirt, a black bow tie with black straps on his biceps yet the flames of his body churned naturally up underneath his clothes, it was like watching ocean waves. You were brought back to Earth as Sans greeted Grillby and snapped you to the conversation.

 

“what's your poison, kid?” he reached for a ketchup bottle in front of him and drew it in closer.

 “Oh! Uhh..” you looked to Grillby who patiently waited for you, you locked in on his glasses where his eyes would have been and could have sworn you were met with a brighter orange gazing back at you. Was it getting hotter in here?

 “Mojito?” you spoke a little softly but he nodded and went off to prepare your order. You watched as he moved, was he made of pure twisting plasma or was there something solid underneath?

 Sans noticed your focus and cleared his non-existent throat, grinning a little devilishly at you as you looked back at him and you definitely felt more flush at this point. He was twisting off the cap to the ketchup bottle and you lifted an eyebrow quizzically, he kept eye contact with you as he took a swig of.. ketchup!? Seriously?

You flinched inward, your mouth hanging open at the display but that only drew a pure laugh from the skeleton, he held a hand over his mouth while his eyes clenched shut tightly and his frame shook. You were appreciative of the orange tint to the bar otherwise you would have looked more than just a little red at this point, a soft crackling and a thrumming drew your attention to the bartender who gingerly sat your drink in front of you. His shoulders were also lightly shaking and a light bulb went off in your head, he was also laughing!

 

“Oh my god you did that on purpose to prank me!” you threw Sans an accusatory glare as you grabbed onto your beverage.

 “oh kid, that was the best reaction I've gotten so far, did you see that Grillbz?” Sans looked up at the man, a hand still held up over his brimming teeth.

 He merely nodded, must not be much for conversation, he then went off to tend to other patrons at the bar which were a few humans and a bird-like woman. A whooping and barking turned your attention back to the table of dogs, one of them reminded you of a border collie yet he wore a tank top and camo pants. He was yipping and hollering while the other dogs had their maws in their paws, he must have won the jackpot. Your grin spread as some other much larger dog patted the ecstatic mutt on the head congratulatory, he reminded you of a burly werewolf. You turned back to Sans who was watching you.

 “Is Papyrus going to join us?” you asked, taking a drink.

The alcohol left a soft burning on your palate with a hint of minty freshness, it's just what you needed as your muscles relaxed at the sensation.

 “nah. my brother doesn't like this place.” he swiveled around in the chair and lounged back against the bar, the bottle of ketchup still in hand.

 “Why not?” you looked back over the room, slightly turned towards Sans, “This place has such a good vibe..”

 “he's a clean eater,” Sans' gaze drifted over the room, mulling over your words in his head. Grillby's was always a place of comfort for the skeleton, but on the surface there was an added element to the atmosphere.. change. New faces. New conversations.

 

“Oh, no alcohol either, eh?” you felt your stomach grumble at the topic of food, but you were in no real rush.

 “heh heh. paps drinking?” he took another drink of his ketchup thoughtfully, getting another grimace from you, “nah. he says it inhibits his puzzle solving ability.”

 “That's.. oddly specific,” you giggled as you took another long drink.

 “paps always had a thing for puzzles.. japes..”, he lightly tossed his hands to either side while shrugging. “it kept him busy while we were underground.”

 You saw his smile falter but quickly came back as his pupils landed on you, “so what do you feel like? grillbz makes the best burgs and fries.”

 Topic change, you noted to not pry about the underground and instead nodded. Alcohol and fries always went well together, though you hadn't noticed Grillby standing there and it took Sans lightly turning back to the bar to bring your attention to the man. Sans ordered for the both of you and he silently bowed out to the back door, which you assumed the kitchen was in.

 “..What's with monsters being so sneaky?” the alcohol had lowered the wall of thinking before speaking and Sans gave you a look.

 “You guys are so quiet I mean..” ah shit. You also noted to not drink on an empty stomach.

 Sans merely chuckled, the sound reverberating in his chest.

“you met my brother, right? not all monsters are good at _skulking_ around.”

 You flushed, stammering as Sans just kept chuckling over top of you. You felt as if he was also taking notes and wouldn't let you live that statement down. Grillby placed your meals before you and turned back to manage another round of shots for the group at the other end of the bar. The smell was amazing, the taste was even better as you dug into your fries first. You watched Sans pour on the ketchup liberally all over his food, burger included and you pointed a fry at him.

 “You heard that there are two types of people?” you smirked as you munched down on the fry before gathering up another one. He merely looked at you curiously as he set down the bottle.

 You continued, “People who dip and people who just pour ketchup on fries.”

 His grin widened as he slid the bottle of ketchup closer to you, “..which one are you?”

 You reached for the bottle slowly, “I must confess, I'm a dipper.”

 As you grabbed the bottle you felt your fingertips brush against his bony phalanges which were hard and had an odd texture to them as well as being.. cold. You fingers flinched back as he also let go of the bottle, a shade of blue rushing into his face.

 “whoops. sorry kiddo.”

 “N-no you're fine!” you smile sincerely at the skeleton but that only seemed to deepen the hue, “I didn't expect your hands to be so cold is all.”

 “ah, so you wanted to hold my hand, eh?” he wiggled his brow ridge at you and you sputtered for a bit before realizing he was just teasing and you playfully shove your hand into his arm.

 “Oh hush up, bone boy,” you laughed, digging back into your food and so did he. You fell into a comfortable silence while you finished up, you felt your body warm and energize. Good food, friends.. it had been awhile since you've enjoyed a moment like this. You both practically polished your plates, glancing at each other and grinning. Grillby swiftly took your plates but a sound of chairs pushing against the hardwood floor drew your attention back behind you. The dogs were all standing now and silent with their ears pricked, staring intently out the window but you couldn't see what was happening very well. Though you could hear it, shouting.

 “again? do they ever give up?” Sans sounded irritated, you didn't think it was possible for his voice to get any deeper than it was. You turned to look at him, then Grillby who was standing still with the plates in his hands.

 “ … No. Human's are.. Determined.” his voice carried a heavier accent than Sans, almost regal and it likened to a soft thunder within his chest and curdled from his strong throat.

 You remember this morning on the television.. the protesters, the venom in their words pointed towards your new friends. The thought struck a nerve within you and the word was out of your mouth before you could stop it.

 “Savage.”

 

They both looked to you, then each other before Grillby went back into the back room to deposit the dishes, returning rather quickly and stood behind the bar with his arms crossed, watching the window with the dogs who were growling now.

You followed suit but stood to see better, you saw that across the street there was a loud raucous led by a man with a mega phone espousing some form of hate. His face was scrunched into a snarl as he barked into the throng, only enticing them to shout in agreement. Some people had signs, some just threw their fists into the air, there was at least a couple dozen of them from what you could see and you suddenly felt cornered.


	6. You're filled with.. Justice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instead of being scared by the protesters you find yourself merely inspired instead, inspired to stand with your friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last Chapter in my T.A.M dump!
> 
> I work pretty quickly, three chapters at a time, but I give myself two days or so to edit and polish my work before it's ready to be published. I don't have a set schedule for uploading /yet/ but it should be /AT LEAST/ once a week in three part bombs.
> 
> If you guys prefer I merely shake out the chapters throughout the week instead of a dump let me know but I know that I myself am a marathon reader which is why I prefer to bomb.
> 
> Don't be afraid to drop a kudos, comment or what have you i'd love to hear your opinions and thoughts as we go through this turmoil together.

“What do they even want..?” fear encroached in on your voice and the observant monsters noticed it as they both looked to you.

“buddy. I don't even think they know that.” Sans continued to lounge against the bar as he watched the scene. He didn't seem worried, just annoyed and as you looked back to Grillby for a moment you realized he also was pretty relaxed. You turned back to the floor and noticed every monster in the bar was rather content, calm, except for the dogs who just instinctively got riled. It reminded you of when you had a dog growing up, they would always be tense at the front door if they heard activity outside.

 You slowly sat back down, mimicking Sans as your back leaned against the counter but your hands where in your lap. Is this what they've become used to? How could anyone become comfortable with that kind of pressure literally looming just outside..? The reality of the world nestled on your shoulders.

As the minutes passed by the dogs settled back into their seats and continued their game tentatively, with them out of the way of your view you could see even more people than you originally thought and it honestly started to scare you. As you watched the crowd you suddenly froze, a large man stealing your gaze with a harshness in his expression that you wouldn't ever soon forget. Sans noticed your body language so he lightly nudged his knuckles into your arm, his bones were cold, sapping the heat from your skin. You quickly glanced down to him to be met with a drooped a brow while the other slowly raised.

 “whatsamatter, kid?” he studied your face as you looked back to the crowd.

 “Rob's in that crowd..” you swallowed as you watched your coworker rally with the man with the mega phone. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoy himself, laughing and sneering. It dropped a load of bricks into the pit of your stomach.

 

You felt a heat pressing at your back as Grillby lightly leaned over the bar to better hear your conversation and look over the crowd with more decisiveness.

 “yeah,” Sans held out a hand and pointed right at him, Grillby followed the motion and nodded though you only heard a soft whooshing of the flames on top of his head.

 “Y-you already saw him?” for some reason you couldn't pull your gaze from the man. You could just remember the way he grabbed your arm, the way his eyes bulged as he snarled at you from the previous night.

 “i'd notice that prick anywhere..” the whites of his eyes vanished as he spoke but you hadn't noticed, too entrenched in a wave of thoughts.

 “he's always been a part of this group, he likes stirring everyone else up and escalates the issue. people like him must not be very happy, nothing could fill that for em though.” his voice dipped as he gripped the ketchup bottle tighter, “they'll never be happy.”

 

“I had no idea..” you drew your hands up to your face and took a moment to breathe.

 Sans watched you silently, leaving you to your thoughts, he knew you'd speak up after a moment and he was right.

 “It's all so horrible.. I'm so sorry.” he blinked at you a few times as you lowered your hands and looked over to him. The rioters were only becoming more boisterous and became the new background noise over top of the bars music.

 “A-and the government doesn't want you guys to use magic either.. how are you going to protect yourselves from .. that?” you gesture to the window and spin back around in your seat, your torso facing sans while resting an arm on the counter. Grillby's voice pulled your gaze to him, he was rather close and you caught a slight smell of a campfire.

 “Human's don't scare us...” his words were solid.

 “grillbz is right.” Sans slightly turned to face you as well, “it's not like all humans are trying to get rid of us. It's actually been kind of.. surprising.”

 He paused for a moment before continuing, “some of us even remember before the Underground, humans have come a rather long way in a few hundred years.”

 “A.. a few hundred years?” you looked at him, confusion plastered over your face and Grillby's movement caught you off guard. He had straightened back up, yet he was also.. rigid.

 “yeah,” Sans gestured to Grillby, the man's flames seemed to choke a bit.

 “grillbz was pre-war.” he chuckled as your face only showed more concern, looking back to the man of fire a slight flush of blue crept up into his face.

 “Oh.. I wouldn't have even guessed that.. you don't look..” you stammered as Sans finished your sentence for you.

 

“old?” he started to chuckle as Grillby only grew a tad bluer, his flames turning more white than orange.

 A siren cut through your conversation and as you looked back outside a police car had pulled up, ordering the group to disperse and you should have felt relieved but yet.. you weren't. Knowing Robert was a part of this monster hate group made you beyond uncomfortable.. how would work go after knowing this? You felt so stupid for hiding yourself away and not paying attention to your surroundings. How many Roberts have you let yourself be around and not even realized it?

 “hey kid,” Sans drew your attention back to him, “you going to be okay at work with that guy..?”

 “... You should report this individual.” Grillby's voice made you shudder. You had reported him.. but it didn't go anywhere and you didn't want Sans to also get into trouble.

 “It'll be okay. He actually is pretty okay to deal with.”

 “until he grabbed you,” Sans came off a bit harsh but he was right.

 You sighed, “I'll email my boss about it.. maybe I can find some dirt on him online or something associating him with these weirdos.”

 Sans took your response yet you could tell he was still uneasy about it.

 Looking back out the window you chewed at your inner cheek, how were you going to get home through this? You definitely didn't want to be singled out in the dark of the night.

 Sans hopped off of his stool, seemingly reading your mind and looked to Grillby who merely nodded. You looked between the two as Sans lightly pinched your sleeve so you stood and he led you to around the bar. You two weaved between the quieter patrons and he led you behind the bar and out the back door into the kitchen, it was immaculate and spotless. You hardly knew how to react to it before you were led out into the back alley, it was rather dark and the voices were softer but not yet gone as they argued with police.

 “hey kid. I know you don't want to go walkin' around out there,” you nodded as he spoke, slowly picking your hands up to hold your arms. He really could read you like an open book.

 “mind if I show you a shortcut?” he held out his hand, the bone shimmering in the low light of the alley.

 “A shortcut..?” you eyed his hand before reaching out for it, you set your palm flat on his open fingers which slowly curled around your soft flesh and drew you closer to him. The coldness of bone contrasted vividly with a sort of electricity running over your body as you were drawn into his personal space, he smelt of old books and a twinge of metal.

 "L-like teleporting?” you stammered.

 He nodded, his eyelids dropping slightly as he stared at you, “you gotta hold on though.”

 You felt flush, tentatively placing your other hand on his shoulder while he tightened his grip on your hand. “.. a little harder there buddy, don't want to lose you.” He chuckled cooly as you dug your fingers into the fabric of his jacket and locked gazes with the skeleton. What in the hell were you doing?

 “here we go,” as he spoke a sudden vertigo came crashing down on you, your eyes rolled back into your head as you fell forward into San's chest. The moment seemed to stretch for quite a few minutes and felt as if you were slung with a few G's and blacked out, you could feel the ground beneath you yet your head just kept on spinning. A free fall into a void.

A soft coughing from Sans brought consciousness back to your mind, your eyes were shut tightly and as you fluttered them open you were met with blue. Your fingers were clutching onto sans, his hard bones imprinting in your one hand while your other arm was slug around his neck in a sort of half hug which he had caught you with, his arm dug into your soft side as you struggled to get your wobbly legs to just support you.

 “s-sorry..” you slurred while standing back up, your grip loosened but didn't fully let go as you glanced around and found yourself standing in the hallway of your apartment, just outside of your door.

“Whoa..” it took a moment to gather your thoughts and accept where you were before looking straight ahead at Sans who seemed to be .. sweating? A tinge of blue faded over his face and his grin seemed more sheepish.

 “o-oh! Sorry!” you released your grip on the skeleton and took a step back, rubbing the back of your neck.

 “I appreciate the .. short cut?” you raised a brow which he merely nodded.

 "forgetaboutit, kid.” he slid his hands into his jacket.

 “That was crazy.. how do you do that?”, the dizziness was wearing off and instead excitement took it's place. “How did you even learn to do that?”

 “uh.. magic?” he was glancing around the hall as he spoke nervously.

 “Oh.. err. Duh,” you slapped your forehead and shrugged, grinning ear to ear.

 “I had fun tonight Sans.. thanks for taking me to-” you felt your brain crack.

 “oH CRAP! I forgot to pay my bill! Oh no-” Sans started waving his hands for you to chill, a laugh shaking his body.

 “don't worry about it, it's on me. I've got a tab.”

 “Oh you don't have to do that.. let me get the next one..” you fished your key from your pocket and went to the door to unlock it.

 “sure, bud.” he watched as you swung the door open and looked over to him.

 “You.. wanna come in for a bit..?” as you looked at him he looked away for a moment before meeting your gaze, the blue in his face having faded out to his usual grinning expression.

 “nah. papyrus gets a little cranky without his bedtime story.”

 You giggled lightly, raising an eyebrow as he went on, “the ending always gets him.”

 “All right, Sans. Thanks again.. you've been.. a really awesome friend,” you fiddle with the door knob for a moment, feeling shy all of the sudden but it's true. You didn't have many friends and for some reason it just came natural to you to be around this monster. He made you feel.. important.

 “heh. same to you, kiddo.”

 

You both smiled to each other for a moment before you said goodnight and stepped into your flat, he watched you and stood with his thoughts as you closed the door but by the time you had re-locked the door and said hello to Chip he was gone.

You made sure to prep the coffee machine this time and fed Chip as well, you kind of felt bad for leaving him by himself now for a few days and lightly stroked his back as he greeted you on the counter top. Maybe you could have a movie night and introduce Sans to Chip, you giggle at the thought of your two best friends becoming best friends.. that thought made you pause. Best Friend? Already? You bit your lip as you turned on the shower and gathered your pajamas but as your apprehension tried to take control you thought back to how he looked at you at the bar. He seemed so interested in you, of all people.

 These thoughts persisted as you quickly showered, changed and crawled into bed and while you laid there you made sure your phone was plugged in to charge. Settling down into your sheets Chip came trotting into the room and hopped up next to you on the bed, you looked at him while reaching out and softly mewled at your furry friend who adamantly responded and rubbed his head into your open palm. You slowly ran your hand over the top of his head a few times, it was funny how small and flat it was but you ended up just scratching at his back for a moment before allowing him to plop down beside you.

It was too late now in the night to try emailing your boss about Robert.. you weren't even sure how to bring it up, you didn't even want to bring it up anyways. It was unsettling to say the least but something about monsters.. Sans.. Papyrus.. Grillby and even Toriel filled you with a warm light, you wanted nothing more than to protect them, to laugh with them and talk to them. A smile pulled on your lips as you thought of your new found friends and the new life that was beginning to grow around you, there would be trials and there would be hardship but you felt ready to face it. You knew what was right and wrong, you knew the ramifications of hatred and evil that was threatening your friends and at this point you've made a decision. Your thoughts of Justice gave way to your mind nodding off to sleep, the way the day weighed on you made it rather easy to pass out. Chip purring into your side as your phone screen lit up, the preview text scrolling across the top of your locked screen.

 

 _'_ ***** _knock knock'_

 


	7. An Awkward Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going out to lunch with Jenny you find out she's a tad more curious about monsters than you originally had thought..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters are being thrown up today!  
> Saturday/Sunday seems like the best time for me to do these bombs as I write throughout the week and revise. Enjoy!

You had gotten a good laugh from back and forth knock knock jokes in the morning as you got ready for work. Robert would still be on suspension so you weren't worried about running into him today, it hardly crossed your mind as you were focused on your bad joke competition with the skeleton. You were smiling a lot more now that you had met the brothers and gotten acquainted with your floor mates, though you were still a bit too shy to knock on Toriel's door. Just because you clicked with Sans didn't mean you would with the others and Flowey made you feel.. exposed.

 Work was actually pretty slow, not unusual for a Wednesday so you mostly texted Sans throughout the day. Did he even have a job..? You attempted to pry but he would only respond with obnoxious skeleton puns, that was a topic to have face to face where you could actually read him.

You went to lunch with Jenny, listening to her complain as usual until she started to fall silent. You picked up on it and pointed it out to her where she mainly cast her gaze downwards and spoke softly.

 

“What if Robert is right?”, she quickly went on to continue as your face must have been pure disgust.

 

“I-i mean what if monster magic is dangerous? Apparently they can attack your.. your soul.”

 

Jenny looked thoroughly bothered but you hadn't heard of anything like that before, it seemed too strange. How could anyone damage a soul anyways? She must have just been listening to Rob and Jared for a long time as Jared's office was just before her own and their views were obviously skewed.

 

You took a bite of your salad, chewing thoughtfully before speaking, “That seems like a stretch don't you think..?”

 

“That's what I thought at first.. but I did some digging.”, she leaned a bit over the table.

“It's why they wanted to pass a law forbidding monsters to use magic.”

 

You raised an eyebrow, “Like.. period?”

 

She nodded.

 

“Well what if they have to defend themselves?”

 

“You mean like .. standing your ground or something..? Yeah.”, she set her arms on the table, her half eaten lunch forgotten about. “Well because they can actually grab your.. your soul..”, she shifted uncomfortably. “They have an advantage something like a gun or a knife doesn't.”

 

You blinked at her quizzically, “I'm pretty sure they can still get hurt by a gun or a knife if someone really wanted to hurt others..”

 

The corner of her mouth pulled back doubtfully.

 

“Not if a monster can like.. control your body or whatever.”

 

You weren't sure magic worked like that.. but then again you had only seen Sans' teleportation powers and felt it yourself. It was disorienting but seemed to only be used for convenience, transportation. As you thought back on the experience you lingered on the moment you came to, pressed against the skeleton and the memory of his scent drifted through your mind. It took Jenny snapping her fingers to bring you back to her attention.

 

“You okay..? You're getting a bit red in the face.”, her eyes narrowed at you in a playful suspicion.

 

“You know something about monster magic that I don't?”, she pressed.

 

“Er. N-no!”, you let out a breath, laughing a bit. “I was just thinking, sorry.”

 

“About that skeleton..?”, she practically purred at you.

 

You sat there a bit flabbergasted, stammering and dropping your fork onto the plate rather loudly. The clanking caused you both to jolt in your seat, causing you both to break into a fit of giggles.

 

“I'm so right!”, she placed her palms on the table, grinning mischievously.

 

“N-not like that!”, you fibbed.

 

“I was just thinking.. about magic.”, you had her attention. “I've met a few monsters but I only know Sans'.. well maybe just a little bit of it.. or maybe it's all he can do I'm not sure..”

 

She hesitated, a giddy pitch escalating her voice, “Is it.. is it..”, she glanced around before whispering breathily, “sexual?”

You pulled back from the table a tad too hard, slamming your back into wooden panels of your booth. A shuddering pain shot down your spine and you reached back to rub at your mid back, glaring at your flushed co-worker.

 

“Oww..”, you groaned softly, Jenny could only place her hands into her face as an attempt to soften her loud throaty giggles, that only made you blush harder.

 

“Jenny what the fuck!”, you whispered harshly but that only caused her giggles to worsen, her shoulders shaking as she could hardly keep herself together.

 

“No! You can't.. you can't even frickle frack a skeleton.”, your hard expression cracked at your choice of words and it only sent her into pure hysterics.

 

“F-frickle frack!?”, she snorted and wheezed.

 

“Yeah, frick frack.”, you started to chuckle, though the heat in your face wasn't leaving anytime soon.

 

“Frick frack paddy wack get given the _BONE_?”, she blurted.

 

“OH. MY. GOD- J-JENNY!”, you tried to contain yourself but by this point the conversation was sinking quickly, into a mass of explosions into the sea of embarrassment. You felt tears well in your eyes and wiped them as you laughed. Luckily Jenny was too busy trying to pull herself together to tease you any further. Thank God.

 

“I-i'm sorry..”, she breathed in deeply, fanning herself. She also had been crying and was flush in the face just as you were.

 

You laughed truly and crumpled up a napkin in your hand to dab at the corners of your eyes, trying to not smear your eye liner.

 

“It's all right, Jen. I'll admit that was pretty good.”, you confessed.

 

“I know. I am pretty great.”, she beamed. “But as you were saying..?”

 

A residual giggle broke the air again but you managed to wave it off and cleared your throat, “Well it's _not_ sexual. You pervert.”

She held up her hands with a sheepish smile, reaching for her drink as you continued.

 

“He can.. teleport.”, you watched her carefully as she took a few gulps of water and exhaled.

 

“Like.. literally jump from one spot to another?”, she pressed.

 

“Yeah, like in the blink of an eye. I'm not sure how he does it, he didn't explain it and simply just stated 'magic'.”, you dropped your voice in an impression of the skeleton.

 

“How did you find that out?”, she swirled the ice around her glass with the straw.

 

“He uh.. took me home the other night.”, a soft smile graced your features, your friend noticed but she didn't comment on that.

 

“What was it like..?”, she leaned forward in her seat.

 

“Weird.”, you stated. “It was like .. falling. You know when you get really bad vertigo and feel your stomach flipping? Well it's that and.. and like turning into a hard bend on a roller coaster.”, the memory made you dizzy and it took a moment of quick blinks before you could train in on Jenny.

 

“It sounds like it was a rush”

You nodded and glared playfully as Jenny's lips curled into a smirk.

 

“A real.. _spine_ tingling experience. I'm sure a _femur_ teleports and you'll be a _bone_ -ified expert on monster magic!”, she was giggling as you threw your crumpled up napkin across the table at her.

 

“You bitch.”, you both erupted into another fit of laughter before paying for your meal and walking back to the office.

 

You didn't dare tell Sans about lunch and instead got right back to joking around via text messaging, you two were pretty good at it and by the end of the day you were sure you had been smiling all day as on your walk home your jaw ached which made eating dinner a bit of a challenge but you overcame it even with Chip on your lap, happy to spend the evening with you once more. You watched TV with your cat for a few episodes of some sitcom before prepping for bed and falling asleep.


	8. Oh great, HE'S back.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar co-worker makes his reappearance much to your.. discomfort.

Your morning routine went as it normally had. Wake up, spend some time with Chip while having a bit of coffee before getting dressed and heading out of the door being sure to water your struggling house plant on the way. Walking down the street you even said a passing greeting to the coffee stall monster, his ears perked a bit and he waved back to you. Monsters were so much more welcoming than people, at least so far anywho.

 

You strolled inside the building, twirled behind your desk and clocked in right on time. Jenny came in a few minutes afterwards and you two shared a few teasing glares and banter as she headed back to her office, she must have an early appointment otherwise she would have chatted with you a bit longer but that was all right you would have plenty of time to talk at lunch. You started to check your work emails, responding to a few and forwarding new clients to their respective representatives a few for Jenny, Bill, Harrison, and even one or two to Jared. You frowned. Jared was a nice guy when you first started to work here but for some reason he just loved hanging off of Robert's coat tails, for some reason it seemed as if the man looked up to Rob and that only confused you further as there was nothing special about him. Rob did okay with clients but always was a bit indifferent to others, insensitive.

As you continued to peruse the email your frown deepened as you sent an email over to Rob's, taking a moment to process and do the task. You hoped he wouldn't even show today as his suspension had been completely off of your mind, you were too busy having a good time to think ahead and now felt foolish for being unprepared to deal with his return. Maybe he would take the rest of the week off as the weekend was right around the corner.

You chewed at the inside of your cheek for a moment before your phone softly buzzed beside you on the desk, it startled you briefly but that just pulled out a grin and you let out a deep breath as you reached for the device and unlocked the screen, it was a text from Sans. He always texted you a bit later in the day and you couldn't help but think it was because of his own work that he wouldn't be forward with you about, yet anyways.

 

_'_ ** * ** _knock knock '_

 

You sighed a bit loudly, the grin spreading. _' Who'se there? '_

 

_'_ ** * ** _habilut '_

 

..Halibut? What? You sat for a moment, trying to thwart his bad joke but couldn't think of anything. While you were typing up your response he sent the punch line and as you read it you tried to not giggle too loudly.

 

_'_ ** * ** _halibut you and I meet some friends at Grillby's saturday night? '_

 

..What does that have to do with fish? Didn't Grillby just serve burgers and fries? You scrunched up your face while you thought and just shrugged, you were probably making him run out of material but his forwardness with you brought a soft pink to your cheeks. You were happy he was comfortable with you like that.

 

_' Sure! Who are they..? '_

 

_'_ ** * ** _alphys and undyne. paps and I knew them from the underground. '_

 

 _' Okay. Mind if I bring one of my friends too? '_ , you figured it was time Jenny got a chance to actually be around monsters. Your conversation from the other day led you to believe she was curious about them but too nervous or shy to interact with them on her own will by herself.

 

_'_ ** * ** _sure. '_

 

_'_ ** * ** _the nervous girl? '_

 

You flinched a bit. Jenny had been really nervous hadn't she? Well.. it's a good place to start, you shrug.

 

_' Jenny is real sweet, I'll ask her at lunch. '_

 

_'_ ** * ** _more the merrier '_

 

You agreed with the notion, a smile on your lips as you began typing some more as the front door opened. Quickly you lowered the phone and glanced up, going cold as a tall man with deep facial wrinkles waltzed into the building, Robert. He strolled past the desk while giving you a sideways glance out of the corner of his eyes, you froze and didn't say anything while you two stared at each other. Your gazes were only broken by him turning the corner to stroll down the hallway to his office.

 

You really had hoped he wouldn't be here today.

You felt your back stiffen, tighten and that tension surrounded into your chest too as your breathing became more shallow, swallowing dryly. Your muscles were now pent up as anxiety set in, you tried to focus on settling down but it wasn't working too well as you stared back down at your phone. Your finger started to erase what you had typed before with slow taps on the screen.

 

 _' Robert showed up at work today.. man I was hoping he wouldn't come back until Monday..'_ , you chewed on your lip as you warily eyed the hallway. You weren't sure what to expect but did not enjoy the notion of possibly being goaded into another argument.

 

_ '  _ ** * ** _ he say anything? ' _

 

_'No. Just glared at me while he went to his office. Good thing he didn't try to talk to me. '_

 

_'_ ** * ** _heh heh '_

 

_'_ ** * ** _dont worry about it, bud. just clam down '_

 

Oh god more fish puns. The joke did lift your mood a bit though, there was nothing to feel afraid of while at work in broad daylight with everyone here. You slowly took in a breath before releasing it, calming yourself down and nodded sternly. You were okay, no reason to panic.

 

 _' Lol. Eel be sure to remember that.'_ , by now you were getting pretty good at these terrible puns, you weren't sure if that was necessarily a good or a bad thing.

 

The rest of the day went by all right, Jenny had a full schedule so she couldn't make it to lunch but she did bring you back food from the deli which you appreciated and ate in peace. Robert meandered through every now and again but he pretended you didn't exist so you simply mirrored him back. You could live with that.

At the end of the day people started to file out a little early, including your boss but you stayed to clock out right on time. As you were typing your information you heard a hard ticking on the desk in front of you and you looked up you saw a grinning skeleton with his blue hood pulled up over his head. Soft shadows cascaded down over his features which only made his white eyes stand out even more as he peered down at you, his fingers drumming slowly on the wood.

You yipped and leaned back in your chair, a hand over your chest. You still weren't sure how he managed to sneak up on you but at least he had the decency to knock this time. You lightly laughed at your reaction and let out a hard breath, “Hey Sans, what are you doing here?”

 

He merely shrugged and hooked a hand over the hood to let it fall back over his shoulders, leaning over the counter towards you with his arms folded against the wood.

“thought I'd just trout on over, check on ya.”, his grin only grew.

 

“I'm floundering in all these fish puns from you today.”, you chuckled as you clocked out and shut down the computer.

 

“whale, while i'm here might as well gill out a few more.”, he joined you in a throaty chuckle as you stood and stuffed your phone in your pocket.

 

“I sea that.” you retorted just as Jenny rounded the corner and hesitated.

You beckoned her over before she could try to scuttle away, “Jen!”

 

She nervously smiled and stepped over to the reception desk. Sans turned his head to watch her approach which made her slow down, it took a few more strides for her to finally she reach the desk and she gingerly set her hands on the counter a few feet away from the skeleton. You could tell she was unsure, maybe even a tad anxious as you had to speak up before she did.

 

“You've met Sans before” you chimed, watching her face flush a little. She was probably thinking back to your conversation the other day. “We were wondering if you wanted to join us Saturday for dinner at New Grillby's.”

 

She perked up at the invitation and looked between the two of you, “I don't want to intrude..”

 

Sans merely waved his hand lightly as you went on, “It's no problem at all. San's has a few friends he wants to introduce us to, you'll have fun and there will be plenty of driinks.”

 

You wiggled your eyebrows at the girl until she sighed in playful defeat, “Well.. since you insist.” She smiled.

 

“Just come over to my place around five and we can go over together.”, she nodded at your instruction but found her gaze landing back on Sans and her expression paled as she stared back into pure black voids, the whites of his eyes gone as Robert stood in the hall with his arms folded a sneer twitching over his face. You had also noticed the man and went silent, Jenny flicked her eyes over onto you and it took her a moment to glance over her shoulder as Sans spoke up, his voice seeming to emanate deep within his chest.

 

**“ h e y, p a l ”**

 

Robert froze, seeming to snap back into reality and with a loud grunt he turned and walked back into his office and all three of you heard the door slam. Standing there for a moment Jenny started to feel the weight of Rob's true feelings about monsters on her back, and it clearly was effecting her more than it had you as she closed the distance between her and the both of you. She rested her forearms on the counter a respectful distance from Sans and rolled her eyes before speaking up.

 

“I get what you mean now.”, she admitted, watching her hands.

 

“Ah he's just a bully, Jen.”, you lowered your voice as the two watched you lean in towards them. “Maybe he will quit and I'll get promoted to his spot.”

 

Jenny laughed at this remark and responded, “I thought you didn't want to be a sales rep!”

 

“Why not? If he can do it then I could do it even better.”, you huffed.

 

Sans and Jenny laughed at your gruff response, his expression back to his neutral grin.

 

“Well, I'm sure you could. Talk to Ali, maybe she would do it!”, she exclaimed.

 

You paused for a moment, Alison was not a great person to discuss things with anymore. Sure she had helped you in the past but for some reason your trust with her was damaged, you didn't feel comfortable with your boss and for good reason. Rob wasn't just hateful, he was dangerous and if he grabbed you he was capable of other things.. he proved that to you at the bar a few nights ago.

Jenny took your silence for discomfort as she softly spoke up, “Hey, don't worry about Robert. I heard him talking to Ali before she left and she seemed really pissed off. He's just been sulking around in his office all day anyways so whatever.”

 

“guys like that are cowards.” Sans quipped, his eyelids drooping ever so slightly. “they go after the weak because they think they can get away with it, otherwise they go in groups.”

You remembered the other night and nodded, mob mentality gave people a sick sense of power.

 

“Yeah, screw 'em.”, you stated this more to yourself but your friends nodded in agreement.

 

“Well I should get home.” Jenny announced, stepping back from the counter. “I'll see you tomorrow. And.. uh.. Sans it was good to talk with you.”

 

Sans merely nodded, “same with you, kiddo.” he said as she waved and left the building.

You walked around to the front of the desk, glancing back at the hallway with paranoia. You could have sworn you felt eyes on you yet maybe the anxiety of the situation was starting to get under your skin. Sans read your posture like an open book and lightly nudged you with an elbow as he slid his hands into his the pockets of his jacket.

 

“don't sweat it, kid.”

 

“I-I'm not.”, you stammered, caught yet again.

 

“eh, punks like that.. they don't want a bad time. he knows better than to mess with you.”, the confidence the skeleton radiated was comforting, you smirked as a pun came to mind.

 

“Okay, okay.. I'll try to stop giving a carp about it.”, you beamed.

 

He chuckled halfheartedly as you both walked to the front doors, though you were focused ahead and missed sans glancing over his shoulder. You merely shivered as the tips of his bony fingers pressed into your lower back as he guided you out the front doors into the cool evening air, you turned just as a soft blue light faded out from your peripheral vision and he looked back at you with a softer expression than before. It brought a slight flush into your face which he responded to with a light wiggle of his eyebrow ridges and you playfully pushed a hand into his chest.

 

“If I wouldn't have known any better it would seem as if you're hitting on me.”, you laughed then suddenly squealed as he pulled you to him.

 

Immediately you felt flush, dizzy and confused as you stared awestruck at Sans. You tried to say something but merely stammered and gaped like an idiot.. or a fish. Your chest was pressed to his and while his jacket was rather thick you could still feel his hardened ribs against your soft flesh. His arms wrapped around you as you stood there not really sure what was happening, your heart wanting to flutter right out of your chest. With your hands on his chest he leered closer to your face, locked into your eyes before the world started spinning around you and you lost your footing. You were focused in on his gaze as the world around you went black, the g-force hitting deep within your gut as your head kept spinning, forcing your eyes to close. Luckily he was holding you tight enough you didn't fall to the floor as you found yourself standing in the hallway of your apartment.

His breath brushed across your neck as you blinked rapidly at the sudden shortcut, clearly not having expected it. “what can I say.. I like seeing you fall for me.”, he chuckled deeply, the vibrations running through his rib cage and you oddly could feel them radiate through you. You especially could feel the heat in your face as he helped you stand on your own, his eyes were droopy and his grin was more pointed with a devilish flair.

 

“Hoo-ho you dick.. give me a w-warning next t-time.”, you groaned, taking a moment to stand there with a hand on his chest and the other rubbing over your face slowly. It took but a moment to gather your sight and thoughts but you still took your hand off of his chest sheepishly, clearing your throat and stammering as you tried to apologize but he just kept that same expression on his face while watching you struggle.

 

“W-was that just be-because you couldn't h-help the comeback?”, you laughed, it felt good to laugh as it cleared your head and made light of the situation that left you flustered.

 

He simply shrugged while glancing off to the side, his grin pushing into his eye sockets, “yeah somethin' like that.”

 

You had completely missed it, which made it all the better for Sans. He had caught Robert staring at the two of you as you left the building, his head poked out from his office. Sans responded in the best way possible.. Placing his hand on the small of your back and slowly parting his teeth that tore apart pointedly, he kept eye contact with the man, a blue transparent tongue curled and ran along his sharpened fangs hungrily as they waltzed through the door. Time seemed to go in slow motion as Robert froze with his eyes wide open, jaw hanging and fingers tensed, clinging onto the tension in the air.

Sans had just enough time to pull his tongue back and close his teeth before looking back to you, feeling as if that wasn't enough he drew you close and could lightly smell your perfume which was hinted with chamomile and daisies. He got one last look at Robert through the glass door before teleporting the both of you to your apartment. It left a deep stirring within Sans, his bones felt hardened, almost frozen as a shudder of satisfaction washed up his spine and lead into his facial expression as he watched you regain yourself.

You were oblivious to this showmanship to Robert, but you clearly noticed the tinge of hunger on Sans' face and felt butterflies deep within your stomach.

 

“Uh.. th-thanks for the shortcut home, Sans.”, you let out a shaky breath and regained your ability to breath involuntarily before continuing.

 

“I know you came by because of Robert.. Thanks.”, you glanced at your feet before looking back up at the sound of him chuckling.

 

“heh heh, it's all right buddy. his beef should be with me not you.”

 

“So you basically just gave him a reason to by showing up at work..?”, you inquired.

 

“heh.”, he set his hands into his pockets. “something like that.”

 

“Well.. either way I do appreciate it. I.. uh.. Appreciate you, Sans.”, you mused at him as a tinge of blue swept across his cheeks, causing his eyes to bounce around the hallway distractedly.

 

“it's no problem, kid. Friends look after friends.”

 

Friends.. ? That didn't feel like something just friends experienced together but perhaps you were just getting ahead of yourself. It had only been a few days of knowing Sans but yet you felt like you had known each other for so much longer. You blinked at him before motioning to your door, clearing your throat lightly.

 

“That's true. Did you want to come in..?”, you asked pensively while you walked to the door, he followed a few steps before stopping.

 

“heh I can't.. I've taken a long enough break and should be getting back.”

 

“To work?”, you raised an eyebrow as you unlocked the door.

 

“yeah.”, and he left it at that. You wondered what made him so nervous about your apartment but decided you were just being a bit insecure and that mustn't be the real reason behind his responses.

 

“Well all right, goodnight Sans. Thank you again.”, you both smiled at each other and as you closed the door he stood for a moment and let out a shaky breath. His display earlier left him rustled, he could still smell you on his jacket and that alone made his bones itchy and as he teleported back to his station he ran his tongue along the inside of his hollow grin, lingering over each indent of his teeth while a low growl rumbled in his ribs. He knew that threat alone to Robert wasn't enough, he'd have to keep more of an eye on him especially during the end of your shifts.

 

The contrast in thoughts between you two was rather large while Sans debated and thought bitterly on the situation with Robert you merely went skipping about the apartment, playing music on your phone and making dinner with ease. For some reason it made you feel good to know that Sans was looking out for you, your heart sunk a bit at the friend remark but shook it off. Just being able to be around the skeleton, joking and talking with him.. it brought a new sort of adventure to your life. You couldn't wait to introduce Jenny to it as well.


	9. A Glimpse into their Relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stumbling in on Sans and Flowey you start to see some .. unresolved issues, but what could cause so much animosity?

At work the next day you hadn't seen Robert come in and Sans was texting you less and less throughout the day, which wasn't a big deal as you were wrapped up in conversation with Jenny. You had begun to prepare her for the experience at New Grillby's, explaining with gusto how the bartender would move with such fluidity and grace, how the dogs had yipped and howled during their poker game and the further you delved into your experience the further Jenny fell into curiosity about monsters and with that excitement started to radiate from her. She was really pumped for tomorrow night and it showed as she came back and forth from her office to ask you more and more questions, what should she wear? Who would be there? (for the fifth time that day) And so on.

When it was finally time to clock out you had noticed Sans had not responded to your texts within the past two hours or so, you frowned. It was a bit odd but he had been acting a bit strange since the other night and hadn't texted you back until the morning. Something was off about the skeleton and it was making itself rather clear the more the day progressed, the shorter his responses were if there was one or not.

 

Walking back home was a breeze and you didn't mind it, the nightlife was preparing itself to go into full swing within a few hours so you had plenty of time to grab some meat and vegetables from the store as well as other essentials like tea and coffee creamer before heading back to your apartment. You went through the front door easily enough and as you climbed up the stairs closer to the third floor you heard voices, they were toned down and rather harsh which caused you to slow your assent.

 

“Why are you being such a pain in the ass you bag of bones!”, a shuddering voice spat.

 

“i told you already-. . not playing your game-..”, that was definitely Sans but you were still too far off to hear his soft voice clearly, most of what he was saying came off as a murmur.

 

Stepping up the flight of stairs carefully you took in a breath and listened as hard as you could, leaning to the wall as you climbed. You didn't want to eavesdrop but also didn't want to step right in the middle of an argument so you chose what you presumed the lesser of the two evils.

 

“You're getting mad.”, the voice cackled knowingly.

 

“I've seen what you do under frustration, under pressure.”, the voice continued, you paused a flight below biting your inner cheek you hardly noticed your grip on the plastic bags had tightened.

 

“You _crack._ ”, it hissed.

 

There was a rather uncomfortable silence yet a pressure started to set in the air, much like a very large speaker tuning into pure bass it left you feeling dizzy and closed in. The energy was rather dark, forceful and it pushed into your body, into your mind and even onto your very being. The heaviness started to frighten you, what the hell was happening? You focused on the ground beneath you, staring at the terrible commercial carpeting and trying to maintain a level breathing pattern but as time went on, as the silent drug out it was only a matter of time before you couldn't take it anymore.

With a grunt you began to trudge up the stairs in an attempt to alert the monsters at your approach and it worked, while you came up to the top of the steps it was like stepping out of the depths of the ocean, the pressure melted off of you but as you turned the corner you heard a loud shattering and was met with a flustered, sweaty skeleton and a pile of dirt and bits of ceramic strewn across the hallway. Flowey was atop the pile and was snarling all sorts of curses that were just pure gibberish to your ears, his face was contorted into a rabid, frothing hatred as he whipped his head around every which way to assess what had become of his flower pot home.

You stood there a bit unsure at the scene in front of you. They obviously had been fighting and it took great strain upon the skeleton as he looked at you from the corners of his eyes, his smile seemed forced as his chest softly heaved under his light panting. Sans looked truly flustered. His under eyes were strained, deep and slightly blue while beads of sweat trailed down over his porcelain skull and dripped onto the hood of his blue jacket. His hands were balled into fists and even while he slowly released them to set them within his hoodie pocket he missed a few times before finally shoving them inside, his smile looked almost pained as he grinned to you.

 

“ah. kid.”, his smile drew into the corners of his eyes.

 

“i was on my way to get you from work.. i got a bit- distracted.”, glancing back to the flower as he was squirming with rage, now just staring at the mess entangled in his thin roots.

 

You hesitated but shook your apprehension and closed the distance rather quickly, setting the bags down on either side as you knelt down in front of Flowey who was continuing to sputter and hiss, his face was contorted into a row of sharp teeth and narrowed beady black eyes. He caught sight of you and whirled around on his little mound of soil and growled, his petals quivering as he did so.

 

“What's going on with you two?”, you looked between the two monsters, not either of them willing to look at the other so they merely just stared back at you. San's gaze seemed empty while Flowey was dripping in disdain, it was probably meant for Sans but you couldn't help but feel bundled in on the disrespect as well.

 

You didn't have to try talking to them again as your neighbor's door swung open, Frisk standing there holding the door knob and seemed to be assessing the situation silently. Sans held his breath, his eyes going dark as Flowey practically spat in your face, **“What's it to you!?”**

 

You flinched a bit and leaned away from the fuming flower before looking to Frisk, as if begging for help. Sans hadn't spoken a word and didn't seem to want to anytime soon, he simply just watched for now with his hands in his pockets and an empty expression draped over his face.

Frisk never really held any sort of expression as they came trotting forward to the scene and knelt on the floor opposite of you and gently pulled the dirt, and Flowey, into their tiny hands being mindful of the thin soft roots that were tangled in the mess. They then looked up to you silently, an idea popping into your head you quickly jumped to your feet, forgetting your groceries, you flew past Sans to your apartment door.

 

“Hold on, stay there I've got an idea!”, you unlocked the door and flung it wide open as you ducked inside. You were too busy fleeing into the kitchen to notice that Sans and Frisk had followed you into your abode, Chip chirping lightly as he spotted your guests and stretched on the futon as he stood. You hadn't even noticed the sound of your cat jumping down to the floor and meandered his way over to the skeleton, Sans just eye'd the creature as it approached.

 

While chip introduced himself you picked up the pot of the wilting house plant, sighed and gripped the base of the plant, pulling it out of the soil and dumped it into the trash can. There was no time for a proper burial. You spun around and nearly slipped across the linoleum as Frisk stood there and stared up at you curiously, even Flowey had an apprehensive look strewn over his features but at least his sharp teeth had been pulled back. Sans stood off in the hallway, his gaze bouncing between Chip and the scene in front of him.

 

“H-here. Let's get you fixed up.”, you set the newly liberated pot on the floor and folded your legs as Frisk also sat down and gently moved the flower into the new ceramic pot. It was even a bit bigger than the old one and you watched as Frisk gently moved the soil around with a determined and gentle combing. Flowey wiggled his stem a bit as the child moved their hands away and smiled, the flower looked himself, and the pot, over slowly before looking back up to you with an incredulous stare.

 

“I-it's no problem! Accidents happen.. Besides I don't think my house plant was doing so well anyways.. you need it more than it did.”, you tried to smile genuinely but it wavered, the flower was unsettling to be around and you admit that he made you extremely nervous.. But if Frisk, the ambassador of all monsters, felt Flowey was worth saving then he deserved a chance from you as well.

 

“Oh my, what a mess.. What happened?”, Toriel's soft voice carried from the hall and into your apartment. Sans turned to look at her and shrugged, murmuring.

 

“sorry. Tori.”, you could hear the nurturing monster sigh lightly.

 

“It's all right, Sans.”, you looked up to see her poke her head into the kitchen, carrying your forgotten shopping bags. “I.. Assume these are yours, dear?”

 

“Oh! Yeah, thank you Toriel.”, you jumped to your feet and dusted off your pants as she placed your bags on the counter and beamed down at Frisk and Flowey who were still on the floor. Sans remained in the hall, his head turned down as he watched Chip weave around his shin bones with a gentle flicking of his tail.

You went about unpacking your food stuffs and balled up the plastic bags before stuffing them into a junk drawer at the far end of the counter top, turning around to see Frisk lightly placing Flowey on the counter next to you before padding on over to Sans and Chip simply beaming at the animal who chittered happily at the child.

As Frisk began petting your cat you looked to Toriel who watched the scene fondly, she had such a softness to her yet stress was setting on her features. Her ears were a bit more drooped, as were her eyes so you lightly cleared your throat so she turned to you.

 

“Hey Toriel, you okay..? I'm not quite sure what is.. what is going on with-”, you looked to Sans but quickly brought your attention back to her, she noticed and softened her expression as you continued, “Well. If you need any help just let me know..”

 

She nodded and let out a soft breath, “Thank you. Things have been very busy the past few months since we all left the underground.. Frisk is just a child yet are representing all of monster kind..”

You glanced over at Frisk who was now sitting at Sans' feet, Chip in their lap as the skeleton passed a few feline jokes their way and caused a string of giggles as the time passed. At least he was starting to shake off the walls he had thrown up earlier. Flowey warily watched as well, but you could tell he was dialed into your conversation with the goat woman.

 

“I wonder sometimes if it is.. just too much.”, her momentary frown was wiped from her lips quickly, “But Frisk is very determined. They do a wonderful job and while politics are a little too complicated for a child to understand Asgore and I do what we can to take over those roles..”

 

You perked at the familiar name, you had heard this name on the news a few times.. Ah! He was the king of monsters. You even saw a few pictures of him with the president and it shocked you at how massive the creature was, he was goat-like as Toriel was but carried massive ram horns atop his skull and wore a long blonde beard which was immaculately groomed. He reminded you of a king. You started to see the connection between the two but just listened as Toriel went on.

 

“Actually..”, she locked onto you. “We were going to have a meeting about next week and the matters we must.. iron out before your human government. If you wouldn't mind watching Flowey and Frisk as we discuss matters it would mean a lot.”

 

Despite your trepidation with the Flower you couldn't say no to the child who held your cat so lovingly in their arms, their antics even seemed to lighten Sans up as he looked much better than he had in the hall. Frisk must have an innate ability to communicate with all creatures, yourself included as children weren't entirely your cup of tea there was just something special about Frisk.

 

“O-of course! I just bought groceries so I can make dinner too.”, you grinned.

 

“I'll stay too, Tori.”, the skeleton was suddenly right in the kitchen with you, off to the side of you and Toriel.

 

She nodded deeply to Sans, “We will still be across the hall if you need anything.”

 

“Oh that wont be necessary, Toriel. It seems like Frisk already made a new friend.”, you chuckled as Chip seemed to be falling asleep on the small child's lap, his eyes slowly blinking closed tighter and tighter.

 

“Thank you, both of you. I'll go clean the mess in the hall and prepare our meeting, please don't hesitate to call.”

 

You watched her step from the kitchen, tenderly petting the top of Frisk's head before stepping into the hall to sweep up the excess dirt and ceramic pieces to be thrown out. You glanced to Sans over the noise of shuffling and softly smiled, which he meekly returned. It was clear he was still bothered but you had to give it to him, he could fool someone else into thinking he was all right but you knew better. You thought it best to leave it alone for now, until another time, and while clearing your throat and turned back to the counter with your ingredients spread across it.

 

“Does stir fry sound good to everyone..?”, you ask as you pulled out a large wok from the cabinet.

 

Some good food, good friends and a few laughs should clear up the evening and end it on a good note, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this week's bomb!  
> This last chapter was on the short side as I'm spending a bit of time with family and couldn't give a larger chunk as much attention that it would deserve. The next section of story is going to really start picking up so it's good to cut here for now.
> 
> I'm so happy you guys are enjoying the story as I love writing it so.. Thank You for all the kudos, hits and comments. <3


	10. Dinner and the Beginning of a Great Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You serve your guests stir fry for dinner and are lulled into a soft sense of security by Flowey's light disposition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload, I've got a cold and it slowed the process down for me. Enjoy!

Flowey merely watched as you went about prepping the cast iron wok with oil and letting it heat up on the stove top before setting out the meat from the grocery bag, luckily it was already diced, and moved onto cutting vegetables though you didn't have to worry about prepping the snow peas. You could hear Sans in the living room joking with Frisk who would occasionally giggle, it was accompanied by the scampering of your cat darting up and down the hallway as they played. The activity was nice, comforting even. Except.. your eyes drifted over to Flowey who sat a few feet away from you on the counter and he hadn't taken his eyes off of you. His face was a neutral smile and he softly swayed as he noticed you looking at him. Even though your eyes darted back to your knife cuts he let out a light chuckle.

 

“Aren't you afraid?” he mused.

 

“Afraid?” you scrunched your eyebrows, glaring at the mushrooms you were slicing up, “Why would you ask me that?”

With this the Flower paused. Using a question to deflect conversation was your favorite tool and it granted you a few more minutes of silence to finish up slicing the mushrooms and move onto the bell peppers.

 

“Afraid of monsters. It seems that you aren't..” he finally spoke. “But I can't help but feel that's because you don't _know_ monsters.”

You turned to the flower, holding the blade mid-cut through the bell pepper but he cut you off before you could begin to point out your relationship with Sans.

 

“Sure you know _of_ monsters. You've _met_ monsters. But you don't _understand_ monsters.” his petals glistened as he swayed, locking gazes with you as he lowered his voice to a soft murmur.

 

“I could teach you all about it.” he grinned.

 

“..Why would you want to do that..?” you finished the cut through the pepper before setting the knife on the cutting board. “Every time I see you.. you don't seem to like me very much.” Or Sans for that matter.. but you kept that to yourself.

 

“Bad timing.” two leaves at the base of his stem rested on the ceramic edge of his pot, seeming to lean in closer to you. “What is it you humans refer it to..? Ah, resting bitch face.”

Your eyes narrowed a bit unbelieving before turning back to your work and continued to slice up the rest of the bell pepper in front of you, quickly moving onto the second as he went on. You really just weren't sure what to say to the monster, he always seemed to say something with the goal to fluster his victim which was something you did not want to reciprocate.

 

“Yes, just like that.” he snickered which caused you to swallow and clear your throat, immediately relaxing your expression.

 

“Err.. you still didn't answer my question.” you gave him a side glance before gathering up your cut vegetables and lightly mixing them with your hands gingerly.

Flowey studied your movements as you used your cutting knife to open up the package of meat and set the utensil into the sink before tearing off the plastic wrap with your fingers, plopping the diced meat into the steaming wok with a satisfying sizzle. You waltzed past Flowey to the garbage can to dump the plastic into the bin on top of your abandoned house plant and scurried on back to the pan to stir up the meat as it browned.

 

“Well, it seems you and bag of bones are getting rather.. close.” you nearly dropped the metal spatula into the wok but recovered rather awkwardly and turned to face the flower pot.

 

“We're just friends.” you smiled sweetly.

 

“Friends who take other friends home from work and are constantly chatting with them, eh?” he was getting rather smug at your discomfort.

 

“Sans and I just have a lot in common.. That's all.” you nodded as you tossed the meat.

 

“Bad jokes are not what I'm talking about.” you started to bite at the inside of your cheek, this discussion was uncomfortable and you had no idea how Flowey had learned all of this.. or you just gave it all away by how you've been answering his prying questioning. Shit.

 

“Look, monsters aren't all they _seem_ to be. He may seem like a lazy, laid back funny guy but he's quite strong.. probably one of the strongest in the underground at certain times.” Flowey's grin grew as you stared at him, bewildered.

 

“Which leads me to my point.. So wouldn't you want to kno-” he grunted suddenly as Chip scampered across the linoleum, his tail puffy and crooked as he rounded the wall to rush back into the living room where Frisk was wielding a shoe lace to entice the feline for another pounce. Your eye's shifted to Sans who was laid back on the couch, his eye sockets closed. You lingered on the scene for a few moments.. Was Flowey trying to legitimately warn you..? These were your friends and while you weren't exactly sure of Sans' magic you came to a conclusion, right there as you saw him dozing away on the futon with Frisk at his feet playing with chip. You didn't care.

 He was your friend, he was there for you in the nick of time and checked on you as any good friend would and while you tried to mimic the gesture he held back and you respected that. You respected each other. You cared about him, about Frisk, Toriel, Papyrus and you cared about what could possibly happen to them just walking out on the street with all these thugs who would use any excuse to hurt them. The thought that these monsters were stronger than you realized, dangerous even, gave you more comfort than fear. It let you know they could handle themselves if anything did happen.

 

You turned back to browning the meat and as Flowey tried to start back up you interjected abruptly, “It doesn't matter.”

 

“..Eh?” he eyed you.

 

“It doesn't matter to me if my friends may look dangerous to other people because I know they're my friends, they're there for me. They've .. well, protected me and fed me.” you tossed in the vegetables and gave it a good stir. “People who want to harm others are more upfront about it.. in my experience anyways.”

You look to the monster on the counter next to you, his expression showing some confusion and a hint of something else.. a genuine smile? It was hard to tell.

 

“Besides.. monsters are more kind and compassionate than any other human I've ever met or yet to meet.” Sans sparked into your thoughts with his soft smile and throaty laugh, you hid the slight blush by quickly turning to the fridge to pluck a bottle of sauce from the shelf and liberally poured in the soy ginger zest, giving the meat and veggies a good coating before returning the bottle and giving the mixture another good toss.

 

“I'd consider them.. well.. my best friends. Especially Sans.” you said with confidence.

 

“Even though he's the kind of person who can kill out of frustration?” his voice was low, hissing and spiteful.

The statement made you freeze as you stared into the wok, clutching the spatula. K-kill..? Has Sans .. killed someone?

 

“Luckily you came up the stairs just in time.” the flower bounced happily, the transition in mood was harsh and left you feeling dizzy.

 

“I'm sure you felt it..” he pressed, “the amount of magic skeleton monsters have is rather great. It wouldn't be new for him to take another human soul, so what is a lowly monster soul worth to him?” he giggled.

 

“Which is why it's a good idea for you to speak with _me_ , one on one.” the flower purred.

You turned off the stove top but continued to stare, grinding your teeth into your cheek. There was so much information being thrown on you it was difficult to process what you were hearing. _Another_ human soul..? You had felt that pressure in the air while you waited on the staircase, it was terrifying.

 

“I can help you understand monsters, understand Sans.” he cooed, wriggling his petals. “I know how he hasn't been very forthcoming with information about the underground, about his past.. his family or even monster kind in general. I can fill you in.”

 

“..I.. I don't think that's necessary-” you murmured.

 

“Hey, you probably just saved my life back there. It's the least I could do for my new friend.” he drew the words out, as if he was pleading to get the chance to talk to you.

 

“F-friend?” you turned to the flower pot as he was smiling broadly, it felt genuine.

 

“Yeah, of course! How about after dinner? Just a little chat between friends. Then I wont owe you anything.” he spat out. Okay, that was more like the Flowey you were accustomed to. You were sure Sans wouldn't have killed the little flower, he wasn't like that.. was he? Regardless it seemed to have scared Flowey enough to trust you, to want to talk to you which must mean something.

 

“S-sure thing. After dinner it is.” You nodded with a smile as you gathered up a few plates and threw some small cups of microwavable rice in to cook. Flowey let you move in silence as you prepared the plates but the beeping of the microwave called Frisk into the kitchen where you smiled down at them.

 

“Wanna help me plate these..?” you asked, Frisk nodded quickly so you held the plates with rice and let frisk dump on the meat and veggie mixture. They scampered off to the living room with two plates, thrusting one of them onto Sans lap which startled the skeleton awake with light snorting and he let out a soft laugh before tousling Frisk's hair.

 

He must have murmured a bad pun as Frisk started to giggle in the other room. You turned to Flowey shyly with a plate in your hand, “How much do you want...?”

 

He shook his head lightly, “I'm a flower. Ya know.. photosynthesis.”

 

Oh. Yeah that would make sense.

Frisk scampered back into the kitchen and pulled Flowey's pot into their arms before padding back into the living room and setting the pot on the coffee table, plopping down on the floor beside it in front of the TV. As you were walking in with your own plate you witnessed Sans' lounging his feet up on the table and slowly pushed the pot across the wood to the far edge with the tip of his slipper all the while the flower glowered at the shit eating grin pulling at the skeletons teeth. Frisk was busy digging into their food, trained in on the TV to notice or perhaps they were just used to the two tormenting each other whenever they could.

You thought about what Flowey was saying about Sans.. he wasn't very up front about the underground or his past which made you even more curious about the skeleton. You respected him too much to push the topic and didn't want to possibly bring up bad memories as you knew the underground must have been dark and dreary, living under the mountain for how many centuries.. The idea to speak with Flowey sounded sweeter and sweeter, you wouldn't have to push Sans and you got to strengthen your relationship with Flowey who seemed difficult to earn his trust or respect. It was a win/win.

You carefully sat beside Sans as the other end of the futon taken up by a tired Chip who blinked slowly to sleep. Sans gave you a side glance but his smile seemed to soften up into his eye sockets.

 

“hey kiddo, thanks for the grub.. what is it?” he looked back down to his plate, picking up the fork.

 

“Stir fry. It's like.. just meat and some vegetables and you serve it over rice or noodles.” you mixed up your own plate before digging in, it was pretty good despite your distracted conversation with Flowey.

 

“heh, don't tell papyrus that.” he mused drowsily, “his spaghetti concoctions are creative, and pretty cool, but some things just don't go together.. like bananas and pasta.”

You cringed and tried to not choke on your mouthful of food as a chuckle overcame you, flying your hand to your mouth you closed your eyes and focused on methodically chewing and swallowing before glancing back to the skeleton who had somehow already cleaned his plate? Wow.

 

“B-bananas..? What?” you watched him set the plate on the coffee table before him and leaned back into the futon.

 

“first trip to the human grocery store. Apparently you have to peel them too.. pap's just tossed em in there.” he followed your gaze to his empty plate and chuckled, “it was really good, by the way.”

 

“Oh, thanks.” you blushed a bit and went in for another bite, imagining spaghetti with a whole banana squished into a pile of noodles and smirked. You glanced up to see Frisk's silhouette raise their hand in the air with a thumbs up, their back was to you as they were still engrossed in the show, even Flowey was turned towards the TV as a staged audience laugh played through the room.

 

Sans nodded thoughtfully, “yeah I think even papyrus would agree, right kid?” Frisk nodded enthusiastically as they shoveled more rice and veggies into their mouth.

 

“How is Papyrus.. ? I don't see him over here anymore.” you crossed your legs as you went in for another bite.

 

“ah he's just training with undyne, that hasn't changed since we were in the underground.” his eye lids drooped sleepily, “you'll get to meet her at new grillby's tomorrow night.”

 

“Training..?” you murmured between bites.

 

Sans just shrugged as his eyes closed the rest of the way, there was no way he was sleeping as you stared at him suspiciously, he had an interesting way of dodging topics which only proved Flowey's point further. He didn't even flinch or shift under your prying stares although his smile did broaden. Rolling your eyes you caved and just finished up your plate as the episode went on for a few more minutes, it was some sort of sitcom and while it wasn't great it had it's moments.

With a full stomach you slid off of the futon and gathered up Sans plate, it looked almost licked clean but that didn't make any sense.. he didn't have a tongue. You stacked the plate and gently took Frisks clean plate from the floor beside them, they gave you a thankful smile and you returned a grin before taking off to the kitchen to wash up.

 

You cleaned out the wok, using salt to help get the remaining sauce from the cast iron and set it carefully back on the stove with a fresh coat of oil and went to placing the dishes into the dish washer with a soft humming. As you closed the machine and turned around to grab a cloth to wipe down the counters you were face to face with a smiling, yellow flower and stumbled backwards with a hand clutching your chest. _These monsters would be the end of you._

 

“H-how..?” you stammered which only pulled a soft chuckle from the flower, his petals quivering.

 

“C'mon.. you think I have to rely on Frisk for everything..?”

You pulled yourself together and let out a deep sigh, rubbing your face lightly with your hands before hearing him speak up once again.

 

“I can move around myself.. but it's rather difficult with such a heavy pot.” you removed your hands from your face and lightly folded your arms, leaning a hip against the counter with the hum of the TV in the background.

 

“But.. how..?” you raised an eyebrow.

 

“Not very easily” he deflected. You didn't even hear him come in, let alone set down on the counter top so did he also have the ability to teleport..? It was the only thing you could think of as he softly swayed before you cheerily.

 

“But that's not important. I know you want to know more about us monsters so let's start off with something basic..” he lifted a green leaf and tapped his 'chin' thoughtfully.

 

“What do you know about souls?” he asked.

 

“.. souls?” so maybe Jenny wasn't joking when she brought up the topic.. but how could anyone, or _anything,_ see a soul?

 

“I .. guess it depends on your religious beliefs..?” you were very confused.

 

“Tcht.. rel-religious? What?” the Flower scoffed, “No.”

The room started to go dark, the edges of your vision fading as you watched the flower lightly hunch over with his eyes narrowing towards you.

 

His voice was low, soft and dripping as he murmured, “Let me show you.”


	11. "Friendliness Pellets"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey teaches you about souls.

“See that heart? That is your soul, the very culmination of your being.”

Spellbound, you gaped at the bright, pulsating yellow heart that floated before you. It was about the size of your hand and soft speckles of amber light glistened off of it's form, much like pollen off of a flower in the wind. The rest of the room was pitch black and seemed faded from reality, you could still make out the shapes of your kitchen but it was overshadowed by your beautiful soul affixed to the air as Flowey softly drifted his head side to side in a blissful bouncing.

 

“M-my soul..?” you froze in place, voice barely above a whisper. You were mesmerized by the beautiful light.

 

“Your soul starts out weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV.”

 

“This feels weird..” you swallowed, “I-i..I don't like this..”

 

Flowey continued to smile, “It's all right! Actually, your soul looks rather strong already but I can help you be even stronger!”

 

“I.. I'm not sure what this means. What's happening?” your heart started to beat frantically, goosebumps covering your skin.

 

“I already told you. This is your soul!” a twinge of agitation rose in his voice yet his expression remained the same.

 

“I'm helping you. This is what us monsters see when we see you humans.. your souls are always so different than ours.” he was losing you as your breathing started to quicken, panic setting in you tried to move your body but only your yellow soul moved sharply to the right. You struggled but your soul only meandered side to side.

 

“I c-can't move. L-let me go!” your soul drifted in quick little circles as you attempted to squirm to no avail.

 

“Hey.” you focused in on the flower as he stood still, the soft smile on his expression quelled your panic ever so slightly, “This is what Sans sees when he sees you.”

Your heart thudded and your soul flashed a soft hue of amber, tiny sparks of ember drifting down to the floor and Flowey's grin pulled to the far reaches of his face.

 

“It's rather beautiful, right?” he tilted to one side as you blinked rapidly, a deep flush rising in your cheeks.

You focused in on the little yellow heart, bringing back to the center of your vision and breathed deeply before slowly releasing your quivering breath in sync to the pulsing of the soul. Flowey let you have a few moments to settle down before speaking back up.

 

“Your soul is very unique.. I haven't seen many yellow human souls, it reminds me of the sun.” the flower's petals danced as he swayed side to side once more, the movement catching your eyes as you finally lowered your soul and could concentrate once more. Moving the heart was becoming second nature, it just reacted to your body by thinking about where you wanted to go.

 

“I'm sure that's why he likes being around you so much..” the flower certainly knew how to take you off guard, your shyness getting the best of you as that flushing rose into your ears.

 

“You know he lived in Snowdin, the snowy part of the Underground. There was no warmth, no sun. Just bitter cold, fog, pine trees and the occasional visitor.. though he never went out very much, that one has always been lazy.” he strained the end of the sentence yet ended in a chuckle.

 

“Well.. most of the time.” he added.

 

“So you're s-saying.. that monsters can see our.. souls? Like this?” you murmured, casting your gaze down before looking back up to the flower.

 

“Mostly. Not as clear as what you and I are seeing now but we can see it in there, muted by all that flesh.” you cringed at the verbage.

 

“W-what do monster souls.. look like?” you asked, Flowey paused his movements.

 

“I'd show you but..” he glanced away with a rather toothy smirk, “well.. that's rather intimate don't you think?”

You scrunched your brows before your teeth clenched together tightly, a bit of sweat was building up on the back of your neck. Was this considered intimate for monsters.. ? Oh man you weren't sure to be embarrassed or thankful Flowey was willing to explain all of this to you so gently.. although you felt a strong mix of both.

 

“Anyways, back to what I was saying earlier now that you're on the right page..” he went back to his gleeful swaying, “That is your soul. The very culmination of your being! While your soul is pretty strong as it is..” his grin twitched as your soul pulsed with another hammer of your heart, you got flustered easily.

 

“It can get even stronger if you gain a lot of LV. What is LV? Why, LOVE of course.” he giggled.

 

“Love..?” you asked.

 

“Yes! For monsters we like to spread love through little white.. friendliness pellets. Let me show you!” with that Flowey summoned a dozen of little white spinning beads, they sat in the air above his dainty form and the sight itself was quite.. cute? It brought a smile to your lips and you allowed your body to relax, your soul drifting a little lower as you did so.

 

“I can share some with you!” he winked.

 

“O-oh.. isn't that.. uhm...” you bit into your lip and looked away from the Flower awkwardly, “Intimate?”

The flower burst into a fit of laughter, his petals shaking heavily as he doubled over and held his face in his little green leaves that acted as his hands. You merely watched, biting deeper into your lip before moving onto the inside of your cheek. You felt so stupid at not knowing anything about this but how else would you have known..? It was hard to judge what was deemed appropriate and what was.. intimate? Beads of sweat trailed down over your neck and forehead as your embarrassment dug you into a deep hole of awkwardness, left to wait out Flowey's laughter that consumed him.

 

“N-no!” he choked out at last, wiping the tears from his face before righting himself back up.

 

“No. Soul sharing is so much different than LV.” he went on, “Monsters lack the.. physical form for .. 'affections'?” he sputtered a few more chuckles.

 

“Kid monsters are made from the souls of their parents by magic. Humans use.. what's the word.. Biology?” he squinted.

 

“Er.. s-sure?” you squeaked.

 

“Friendliness pellet's merely raise your LV.” back onto the original topic, thank god, you sighed with relief.

 

“LV strengthens your soul! It's a good thing to have.. especially to stand out.” he winked at you once more and you swallowed dryly.

 

“O-okay.” you glanced off to the side as a slight shift in the shadows drew your attention but after being met with nothing, just blobs of grayed out kitchen that led to the living room, you turned back to Flowey. “What do I need to do again..?”

 

“Just catch as many as you can!” he chirped, the pellets dancing up and down in different patterns.

 

You nodded and lightly moved your soul around in a light circle before speaking back up, “I'm ready.”

 

“Okay, catch as many as you can.” he smirked with the repetition but you were focused on the bullets lingering in the air.

The spinning white pellets suddenly shot for your soul, they were quick and rather precise which took you off guard and startled you. You soul reflexively reacted and ducked to the side past the first few bullets which then crashed into the floor at your feet, sparking into pieces before fading away. Although the last few were waiting for your soul and hurled right into it with a loud, solid THUNK. It knocked the wind out of you. It was as if you were slammed in the chest by a bowling ball and your vision blurred while you stared towards the flower whose face had contorted into a devilish snarl, his eyes bright with euphoria at landing the hits on you.

 

_He.. He lied to me._

 

Your soul flickered and faded with the hurt the washed over you, the impact sent tremors of searing pain outward over your body in long, veiny cracks that ached and felt like fire. The sensation was much like being whipped with long branches across your naked skin, your mouth hung open as a choking cry shook from your throat in place of words. Something hot and coppery coated your tongue and slipped from your parted lips, dribbling down over your chin and pattered onto the floor in crimson splatters.

 A harsh cackling broke the silence and only cut you deeper as you watched the flower, whom you trusted, break into a fit of euphoric laughter. His mouth was parted into dagger like teeth, his eyes were alight with something that you could only describe from movies and books you thought to be fiction, it was a malicious evil and his words dripped with venom.

 

“You idiot.” he chortled.

 

“I didn't think you were as naive as I thought. But I was right all along.” he was almost wheezing with his sadistic laughter, “In this world it's kill or BE killed, you pathetic girl. You think any monster would be interested in some slimy human? Especially one without a DETERMINED soul? HAH- No.”

You would have sunk to your knees if your body wasn't frozen in place, your soul lingering just a few feet from you and emitted a deep gold color. It was no longer radiating soft flecks of light as it remained rather still, cold and distant.

 

“And I'm sure you thought that we were becoming friends, right? BAHAH!” his face contorted into a vicious smirk, a soft ticking ring in your ears as you found your soul surrounded with white spinning bullets.

 

“But while your soul may not be nearly as powerful as a determined one it can still serve as use to me, so I can finish what my _real friend_ had wanted all along. Humans are pathetic, but I can put that power to an actual use.”

Your eyes were stinging as tears pricked them, rolling lightly down your cheeks. How could you have been so trusting? So stupid? You had thought all monsters were kind, compassionate and worthy of trust but it turned out that it simply wasn't true. Evil was everywhere in life, you chose to ignore the red flags and now you were stuck with that shame, that embarrassment, and the pain from that was finally numbing out the lashing sensation over your body but that taste in your mouth.. it was indescribable.

 

“With your soul Frisk will be forced to reset the timeline otherwise I will destroy all of humanity! Chara hated it so much and now I see why.. You humans are so _weak_ and obnoxious, it was their dream to see it all turned to dust! So now, human, it's time for yoU TO DIE!” the flower shrieked as he cackled, his jaw twisting and snapping as his form shuddered under the weight of his dark cheer.

The pellets slowly started to move in on your soul in an encroaching spin, you were trapped and even though you knew it your soul still twitched side to side and up and down, desperate for a way out your lips began to quiver before you felt a rising pressure drawing up through your throat and you screamed. You saw the specks of blood flick into the air before you, splattering onto your quivering soul before a bright light pierced through the darkness and drown the room in a bright white light. The noise was delayed but it shook your body and could only could be compared to a wrathful dragon's splitting roar through it's fiery assault.

 

The darkness was shattered around you as the light faded and you found yourself falling to your knees in the kitchen, staring down onto the linoleum with your hands braced against the old plastic. You panted laboredly for a few moments before you were able to notice an odd texture at the topmost part of your vision, drawing your gaze you followed along the cold leg bones of a familiar skeleton up past his waist and across his back. You could only watch the back of his skull as a bright blue light lit up the cabinets and counter top with his left hand raised high above his head. Flowey's pot hovering into the air above the both of you, the ceramic thrumming with blue magic. Flowey was drooling spit in a fitful rage, shrieking at the skeleton who seemed to have raised him off of the counter into suspension but you could hardly make out the words as the ground lightly started to hum with an intense pressure.

 

“you had promised frisk you had _**pet-al** _ this talk of retribution on humanity behind you.” Sans voice was deep, hollow.

 

“YEAH, RIGHT! LIKE I WOULD PROMISE ANYTHING TO ANYBODY BUT CHARA!” the flower screamed, his petals shivering.

You felt little arms wrap around you from behind and you fell back into the tiny embrace of Frisk who looked over your shoulder at the scene unfolding. Your soul was hovering right in front of your chest and followed with your movements, casting a soft golden hue in contrast with sans' blue light that encompassed the rest of the room.

 

“chara was a freak.”

 

“And what would you classify yourself as you bag of bones?!” Flowey shrieked, “Nobody knew Chara like I knew Chara and no one knew me like they knew me!”

You felt Frisk sigh into your back, you were tired and so very sore but still couldn't help but feel the hurt Frisk must have felt. It seemed like only Frisk truly cared for this monster and this was how they repaid them? You didn't know who this Chara person was but you knew for a fact Frisk loved Flowey, enough to where Sans shook under the effort it took to not smash the flower against the wall or rip him to shreds. You could see the trails of sweat beading over the skeletons skull and how his fingers clutched to the air in frustration.

 

“whatever. you're a filthy killer.” Sans spat.

 

“That's right you bonehead! You wont be able to be there all the time, sooner or later you'll fall asleep.” Flowey seethed, fighting against the magic that held him to shakily lean in closer to Sans as his grin deepened. “You always manage to fall asleep in the end!”

 

The blue light was suddenly gone with the remark. The weak florescent in the kitchen bathing everyone in artificial light and nearly drown your shimmery golden soul.

Sans hesitated, his body stiffening before he suddenly acted by spinning on his heel he hurled the flower out over your head into the hallway. It all seemed to happen in slow motion as you stared wide eyed at the face that had alluded you for days, San's pure rage. His eye sockets were like bottomless voids with deep creases that bowed down under his eyes, his usual grin was instead pulled tight and the outline of razor sharp fangs were given away by the soft golden light given off from your weakened soul. His jacket fluttered behind him as the flower pot soared above you and with frighteningly quick reflexes Frisk released you and stepped back with a soft hop, reaching for the ceramic they managed to snag the pot and came tumbling to the ground in the hallway with satisfying thuds.

 

You were locked onto Sans as he glared over the top of you and into the hallway, you couldn't see what was happening but heard Frisk shuffling around as well as hissing from Flowey. It felt like hours before the skeleton tipped his head to look down at you in which you reflexively brought a hand up and leaned away from him. His gaze was nearly primal and the expression was only interrupted by soft beads of sweat that rolled over his dagger like teeth before dripping onto the floor between you, intermixing with flecks of your blood.

White circles of light bounced up from the depths of his sockets and peered down at you, his grin slowly melting back to it's usual softness as he brought himself down into a crouch before you.

 

“i'm sorry, kid. i didn't think he had the stem to try anything with me here. i shouldn't have let my guard down..” there was a hoarseness to his voice as he looked you over, tentatively reaching for your flickering soul.

 

“I..” you felt the emotions wash over you, bringing your hand up to your face you hid beneath it as your frame shuddered.

Once it started it was hard to stop as a light sob cracked from your lips, your jaw tightened as you kept the whimpers at bay but they merely shot back down into your gut and sent another wave of shudders over your body. There was a light push into your chest between your breasts but you hardly noticed the sensation until you felt a few cold fingertips press into your upper arms and when you didn't resist they slipped to your back, Sans knee clicking on the floor as he set it between yours and pulled you into his chest. His body was cool against your flush skin, it felt refreshing and oddly comforting as you tucked your face into his jacket and tried to calm yourself down.

You were unsure how long you were in this position, he had even started to slowly run his bony hand up and down your upper back as you hiccuped and coughed. The taste of blood was disgusting and as you licked your lips you were only met with another mouthful of copper, your light crying had broken into an exhausted methodical pant at that point. Sans gently pulled you back and watched as you put the tips of your fingers to your lips and drew your hand away to stare at the light crimson staining your skin.

 

“H-holy shit..” you whispered.

 

“heh heh. yeah” his breath grazed across your neck, “you've only got one HP left.”

 

“N-no more acronyms..” you practically begged, feeling ill.

 

“sorry kid . . here, try to relax let me get you a rag.” you didn't want him to go but he slipped from the half hug to stand back up and lumbered to the counter, grabbing the rag you were about to use and ran it under the water for a moment.

You were pulling yourself together and started to glance around, your kitchen looked more or less the same but you couldn't help but feel something was missing.. wait, where was your soul? Sans knelt back down next to you and pressed the damp cloth gently to the side of your face, you drew in a sharp hiss at the sting but he ignored you and patted away the sweat and blood.

 

“M-my soul..?” you stammered.

 

“don't worry. it's back where it belongs.” he murmured.

 

“H-how..?” you closed your eyes as he led the cloth over the bridge of your nose and eyelids, it felt so nice.

 

“heh. well. monsters are able to draw and manipulate souls. it's how we fight and cast magic.. and is partially the reason why humans were, and are, so afraid of us.” he gently dabbed your bloody lips, you kept your eyes shut.

 

He sighed deeply, “i'm so sorry, kid.”

 

You tried to speak through the cloth but it came out muffled, “t's -kay.”

 

“no. it's not..”

 

“Mnn-” you opened your eyes to see the worried face of Sans focusing on his task, he was bothered by the amount of blood on the rag as his hands were shaking as if remembering something he'd much rather forget.

 

“I shouldn't have been so stupid.. so naive..” you murmured, feeling tears pricking the corners of your eyes but quickly blinked away the moisture as you drew your gaze to the other side of the room.

 Your eyes widened as Sans slipped a knuckle under your chin and gently pulled your face to look towards him, he locked his gaze with yours looking rather serious as he murmured, “you are not stupid.”

 

“B-but I-” you were silenced by the cloth pressing to your lips and he softened his gaze, grinning genuinely as he spoke.

 

“you are not naive. this is all new to you and you've taken monster kind in stride, if I would have known you were so curious I could have spared you this experience.. but i'm a pretty big bone head and don't take hints very well.” he chuckled lightly before moving the rag and sat on the floor with you lotus style. “i assume that's why you were staring at me..? you seem to stare when you get curious.”

Did you do that..? Oh. He was more observant than you had originally thought.

 “if you have any questions don't be afraid to shoot me 'em from now on.” you nodded at his words and smiled lightly in return before he glanced over your shoulder towards Frisk and began to chuckle rather heartily.

Scrunching your face you gently twisted, and grunted at your sore body, to look behind you and saw Frisk sitting on an upside down laundry basket, elbows on their knees with their chin in the palms of their hands. Frisk was staring sweetly at the both of you while a grumbling Flowey lay trapped beneath the make-shift cage. You weren't sure how long they were sitting there but with the both of you looking at them Frisk suddenly began to wiggle their eyebrows at the both of you flirtatiously and you grinned sheepishly, turning back to Sans who had a light blue hue crawling into his cheeks.

 

“lets get you off the floor, can you stand?” he asked patiently as you flexed the muscles in your legs.

 

“Y-yeah. I think so.” you didn't sound too confident so Sans gently helped you to your feet, your knees were rather shaky but you eventually stood all on your own and went to the sink. You turned the water on and dunked your face beneath the faucet to drink right from the tap. The water felt cool slipping down your throat and washed away the metallic taste of blood, though for good measure you swished and spat a few times before pulling away and wiped the water from your mouth with your forearm.

You suddenly felt much better, the trembling erased from your limbs and you pulled your shoulders back as you stood up straight. Refreshed and partially healed you looked over to Frisk and with a new born confidence strode over to them, Sans reached out for you as you went.

 

“hey what are you doing?” he fell into step with you but stopped a few feet behind as you crouched down before Frisk.

 

“Can I have some visitation with the prisoner, Warden?” you smiled.

Frisk thought for a moment before slipping off of the basket and gingerly raised it over their head, looking back to sans as they let it rest on their head and giggled.

 

“that's a good look for you, frisk.” it sounded forced coming from Sans as there was no pun woven into his words, you felt his stare on your back as you looked down at Flowey.

 

He was turned away from you, his leaves folded across his stem with his petals drooping. You didn't feel sorry for the monster but you did have something to say to him, “I'm sorry, Flowey.”

 

“what. Kid. you can't be serious.”

You saw Frisk in your peripheral vision signing wildly and Sans grunted, Flowey was still.

 

“I'm sorry you feel like you have to hurt others. And I'm sorry that you lost a close friend.. I bet they felt like family, huh?” Flowey didn't move or respond at all but you set your hands on your knees before continuing, “you said my soul wasn't determined.. but it is something else.. and I can tell you are missing Justice for you friend.. Justice you never got.”

 

The flower trembled.

 

“So.. I'm sorry, Flowey. I'm sorry you never got closure.. and hopefully, maybe, we can be friends..” Sans practically growled but you weren't done, “Not now. But.. maybe one day.”

 

“... Leave me alone.” Flowey seethed.

You sighed, unsure if your words had any influence but as you looked back to Frisk they were actually smiling rather widely and slowly put the basket back over the top of Flowey before clambering up on top of it and sat cross legged.

 

“Thanks, boss.” you smiled to Frisk who folded their arms and gave a thumbs up.

You stood and turned to look at Sans who had his hands back in his jacket pockets, the bloodied rag folded up on the counter next to the sink.

 

“Thanks, Sans.. You saved my butt again... though I'm not entirely sure how..?” you said sheepishly.

 

“heheh. forgetaboutit. it's an old technique my old man passed down. it's pretty cool.” he shrugged lightly. It started to sink in just how much violence this skeleton must have endured to be so nonchalant and quick to recover after all this drama.

 

“If you don't mind though I'm going to go wash up.. you going to be okay on watch for a few minutes?”

 

Sans' grin grew, “sure. you got any paper and markers?”

You blinked, bunching your eyebrows but nodded. Coloring stuff for Frisk was a good idea even though he had asked rather pointedly. You slid past him, padding down the hallway to start up the shower and gather some clothes, placing them in the bathroom before picking up a stack of printer paper and a little bag of crayola markers you had used for some coloring books you had to pass the time. Chip was nowhere in sight though you had a feeling he was tucked under your bed, probably scared witless. You decided to leave him be and came out to the living room to find Frisk still sitting on the make-shift cage but placed directly to the side of the coffee table and Sans in his old spot on the couch.

 You set the stuff down on the coffee table and winked to Frisk, “There ya are, Warden.”

Frisk beamed at the nickname and Sans nodded in approval, you couldn't make out their murmurings as you went back down the hall and slipped into the shower. You scrubbed your skin nearly raw, trying to not think too hard about what had just happened and instead were rather firm with yourself. Muttering more than once about how it wasn't a mistake if you learned from it, and learned a hard lesson you had. Your body ached and felt bruised though the hot water helped ease the tension and your chamomile body soap cleared your mind.

After your shower you pulled on soft pajama pants and an over sized t-shirt before stepping back out into the living room, stopping dead in your tracks with a smile twisting into a hard laugh as you saw Frisk still atop the laundry basket but with a paper hat, paper make-shift star badge taped to their shirt and a crudely drawn “GAY BABY JAIL” banner taped messily to the front of the basket. Sans looked up from the TV to you as Frisk signed fervently.

 

“kid asks if you like the new county jail.. ?” he drawled.

 

You finished your good laugh with a proper nod, “It's quite fetching.”

While the banner was a bit politically incorrect you accepted the joke and went to sit beside Sans, one of your favorite cartoons was on even though you wouldn't admit it and you soon found yourself slightly leaning into Sans' side. His eyes remained open the rest of the night but yours.. well.. They had fluttered closed a good fifteen minutes into the episode.

Darkness enveloped you, the hum of the TV lulling you into a deep sleep and the weight of fabric across your body wrapped you in warmth with the soft scent of metal and books being your last conscious recollection.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long chapter I didn't want to chop into two separate ones.  
> My chapters are usually about 4-5 pages long but this one is just over 9 pages. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed the read! It's important to remember our reader has no idea what monsters are like and in no way would have guessed what would have happened to them, much like a virgin play through of the game would have been like.
> 
> I'm stunned to see so many people reading this series and leaving comments/kudos it means a lot to this gal. <3


	12. Nightmares and Pet Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your altercation with Flowey left you with a strange nightmare, what a kick start to your morning!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting the weekend bomb a little early as parts of my bomb are ready now to be published.  
> I'll be updating today and tomorrow night so stay tuned!

You felt weightless, suspended in pitch black with some light hearted voice muffling it's way into your consciousness. You fought against the call to open your eyes, you felt so tired and sore it was nice to just be there and rest. Soon though something hard and coiled trailed up around your ankles, spinning up slowly to your knees and as the tendrils grazed through your inner thighs it caused your eyes to shoot open with a deep gasp, kicking out against the odd restraints. Your vision was rather blurry at first but as you continued to struggle and look down you saw.. vines?! They quickly wrapped themselves around your torso, whipping out around your biceps to draw them to your sides in a sharp snap.

“Ack-!” you coughed out, the vines dug into your flesh as you pulled at your limbs to no avail.

Hissing you drew your gaze up, being met with more vines writhing around you in this empty space but as you craned your head up you came face to face with a contorted, broken Flowey who was dryly cackling down to you. He was absolutely massive and the petals crowning his face were torn and withered as madness claimed his features. The vines wrenched in opposite directions, tearing your skin across your whole body which pulled a dry, choking cry from your chest.

 

“You idiot.” he smirked, tilting his head curiously.

 

“You think forgiving me will do any good?! I will just come back, just like THIS!” you felt a tight pressure within your chest which turned into an agonizing pull as Flowey drew out your soul to float in front of you, glistening in it's vibrant glow.

 

“S-stop... L-let me go..” you managed to cough out, it was getting harder to breath as the vines kept to their painful twisting, writhing and pulling.

 

“You think forgiveness is the answer? The answer for giving Justice onto those who are damn too poor for it?” Flowey's face looked pained, frustrated, “Damn too _unlucky_?!”

 

“N-no..” you tried to bring your hands up to the vines around your torso, clawing at the edges of the plant material in a feeble attempt to free yourself as kicking was doing no good.

 

“I-it does no good.. no good to cause pain to those alread-dy in pain.”

 

“What are you saying? I AM NOT IN PAIN. I GIVE IT! I AM A GOD!” the vines started to shake you back and forth, your soul following just within a foot of your chest.

You shut your eyes tightly, the sensation of the light G-forces making your stomach flip and you thought you may hurl before the vines suddenly stopped their motions. Thank God. You hung limp in the vines grasp, focusing on swallowing and drawing in air as you tried to rid the nausea from your throat. Flowey continued his monologue as you attempted to recover from the thrashing.

 

“You think your goody two shoe, touchy feely bullshit will stop me from coming back? I will KILL you.” he threw you to one side, still gripping you with his vines before tossing you the other way, the force dug the vines deeper into your skin which soon started to ooze and coat the branches in crimson.

 

“I will KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE!” he cackled as you shouted out in agony, it felt as if he was forcing your body to contort to his will as he threw you around the void before coming to an abrupt stop to bring your small form before his trembling facial features, his breath was hot and musty like a swamp which stung your open cuts.

 

“Yet you humans keep thinking _kindness_ will somehow reform me. You are so DETERMINED about it!” he snarled.

 

“..k-kindness.. is not.. weakness..” you murmured, straining your neck as you looked up into one of his twitching eyes.

 

“p-pain is isolating..” you continued, struggling to form the words under the pressure he put you under, “pain makes you think you are a-alone.. th-that nothing is worth the effort.. that nothing will change.” tears welled up in your eyes, strengthening your voice as you pushed on, “That others could never relate to you, that nobody would care.”

Flowey's face continued to twitch, his petals trembling as you went on. He was obviously bothered, upset and frustrated as his teeth gnashed noisily, unable to form any sort of retort as you continued.

 

“Bad things happen to everyone, so why would what happens to me be any different? Be any more important?” the tears were now rolling down your cheeks, but your soul glistened all the brighter, starting to shed flecks of light in the space between the two of you.

“All of those thoughts.. those feelings.. they aren't right. How you feel, how you suffer.. it's noticeable and it changes you. It hurts, aches and always picks at you. It's a relentless monster that only wants to destroy you from the inside out.. it consumes your heart, your emotions, your energy and it will take until it takes all of you.” A soft whimper draws from your lips, the words hitting a bit too personal as you drew them from experience, “And it already has, hasn't it? I know you must not have always been this way..”

 

“You don't know me!” he spat, nearly frothing from his heavy snarls.

 

“I may not know you well. But I do see your pain, your loneliness.. being void of emotion is.. it's.. PAINFUL.” you narrow your eyes as anguish takes over your face.

 

“So why would I ever want to contribute to that pain?” you force out the words in a choked whisper as the vines are relentless around your body. Flowey is squeezing you tighter, beginning to grind his dagger like teeth together noisily.

He merely scoffed, his vines twisting up further along your limbs.

 

“The pain of losing Chara.. it must have been weighing on you for a long.. long time..” you stated, pulling at your limbs once more as your body tensed, “Chara's life mattered, it held weight and it effected you greatly when they left because they took a part of you with them.. I know you've felt that emptiness..” you glanced around you, the blackness only being contrasted to the sea of squirming vines around and beneath you.

 

“Maybe you got disappointed when Frisk couldn't fill that in your life..” the flower pulled his head away from you slightly, as it your words had physically hit him. The light from your soul casting onto his twisting form.

 

“But you shouldn't look to replace the people you cared about. They don't deserve to be covered up or compared.. But you do deserve to move on, to create new memories and new friendships! The people that have moved on are never forgotten, they'll always be a part of who you are.. But you haven't let them go.”

Flowey's trembling reverberated up through his vines, the shaking drawing your cuts to open wounds that spilled streams of crimson red, the rivers tumbling and weaving through your restraints. You cried out in pain from the sharp stinging, the burning sensation of your blood being drawn from your veins. It made you incredibly dizzy from not only the hurt but also the smell, it wafted over your face which caused you to try pulling back from the harsh metallic stench.

 

“Holding onto things from the past is like trying to hold up a weight from the side of a cliff, it will take you down with it if you let it.” you heard Flowey draw in a breath as the vines started to loosen around your form, a breeze of air diving into your wounds and drew a sharp hiss from you.

 

“I-it's better to just.. let go.” you nearly begged, a new serving of hot tears rolling down your cheeks, “It's better to acknowledge your loss, your pain.. reach out to those loved ones around you that _are_ still here. Sometimes we all need a little help, and your loved ones will want you to talk to them.. Like Frisk.. Toriel..”

The vines shuddered with the names you listed, Flowey's teeth were clenched tightly together but as you watched his face as he was afflicted with a jumble of emotions. Your soul's light popped, sparked and flickered out into the void around the two of you. Some of the specks of pollen melted onto the flower's petals, slowly mending the soft flesh back together and you watched in wonder with a smile drawing on your face. He was understanding you.

 

“The truest form of sanction.. is this. Healing.. healing from all the bad and looking ahead, anew.” you could taste the salt from your tears but were too mesmerized at the scene before you, “It all starts with this moment, being able to reach out.”

Flowey's face was drawing back into what looked to be sadness, his mouth closing into a tight line and shuddering as tears glistened in the corner of his eyes. His petals were fully healed by now and the grip his vines had on you were more more tolerable, yet the lacerations across your flesh were still smarting rather deeply.

 

“Let us help you..” you whispered.

You stared at each other for quite a few moments, the only sound was the stressful wringing of the mountains of vines beneath you. Your soul drifted up and down as the light continued to resonate and float around the both of you, you felt so empowered and so sure of yourself you would have reached out to the monster if you could.

 

**“Y o u    c a n ' t    h e l p    m e”**

 

Your eyes went wide as the vines around you released, you felt your body slide out from their grip and you were free falling. Tumbling down, down into the darkness towards the mass of thorny vines below you and they were approaching quickly. Much too fast!

 

Screaming you pulled your hands up to your face as the sudden throw of your stomach, simulating an impact, wracked through your body and with a sharp gasp you felt your limbs throw themselves outward in an attempt to catch yourself but instead you pushed against something hard, the force of the action sent you tumbling to your right side as you toppled from the couch and slammed into the floor on your back with the wind in your lungs being knocked from you in a sharp gasp.

You were looking around wildly, heavily confused before you turned to look off to the side and found yourself looking out underneath the coffee table. The carpet was striped in a soft golden hue from the rising sun and there was a surprising weight bearing down on top of you, had you tossed the entire couch in your thrashing? You groaned and looked up, still in a daze to be met with an equally confused, blushing blue skeleton. Sans was literally laying directly on top of you, between your legs, and you two could only stare at each other as you began to pull yourself to full conscious awareness of what had happened and what was happening.

 

“uhhh..” the both of you stammered, your combined flushing only growing before Sans managed to pull his hands up to either sides of your face and pushed his chest up off of you. It wasn't a much better position. Chip meowed somewhere off in the kitchen loudly, pulling you from your daze and you cleared your throat.

 

“o-oh. right.” he grinned sheepishly, sweat forming on his brow as he quickly reeled back and offered his hand out to you.

You slowly took his hand in yours, it actually felt a little warm, and he helped pull you into a sitting position. Your shirt was hanging off of your shoulders in an odd way, slightly twisted around your trunk and pinned beneath your butt against the carpet. Your pajama pants were also twisted, tangled and hung pretty low off of your hips but luckily the shirt had your stomach covered.

 

“what was that all about, kid?” he yawned, taking his arm back to stretch them up over his head and roll his neck. The sound of light popping and cracking filling the room as he did so.

 

“I.. I had a bad dream..” you muttered, rubbing your face with one hand to clear the rest of your haze before looking towards the stretching skeleton. He sat right in front of the window and while the blinds were drawn the sun still broke through the cracks and cast a soft glow around his kneeling form, gold hugging his outline while the rest of him was softly silhouetted. It was at this moment you realized the gold was outlining the full bones of his arms and neck as he was only in a t-shirt and his shorts, his jacket was haphazardously strewn over the seat of the couch. He must have draped it over you when you fell asleep. Wait.

 

“Y-you stayed the night..?” it came out as a squeak.

 

He finished his stretch, rolling his shoulders and looked to you half lidded with a deep smirk. Dust particles dancing around the scene before you, glistening in the rays of light.

“didn't plan on it that way.” you just stared at him, slack jawed.

 

“Tori knocked shortly after you had passed out, she got the kid and .. the _weed._ ” he growled, “but you were still dozing so I decided to stay for a little while longer.. ya know.. I was kind of trapped anyways.”

 

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I fell asleep on you didn't I?” you hid your face in both of your hands, flushing a deep red. You couldn't believe you fell asleep on your best friend last night, and then woke up to practically punching him and tossing you both from the couch in a dramatic fit.

Sans merely just chuckled and touched your wrist lightly with his fingertips, causing you to stir and glance up from your make shift hiding place.

 

“well. You did go through a lot the other night..” his face looked strained, “i would have kept an eye socket out for you anyways after the stunt that asshole pulled..”

 

You watched him for a moment, his smile was strained and almost.. frowning? The nightmare.. you had forgiven Flowey so easily after he tried to literally kill you. Your trusting nature was fucked up and you suddenly felt incredibly insecure, crumbling into a hunch you dropped your hands from your face into your lap.

“Sorry.. I was stupid and too trusting..” you murmured.

 

“I already told you to not be sorry and you aren't stupid.” he huffed, setting his own hands in his lap.

 

“He was just.. so convincing and I really don't know that much about .. about you or other monsters.” it was all just flooding out now, “He offered to help talk me through it and after dinner he was just... there on the counter-”

 

“what.” Sans slowly drew his brow together, was his face made of clay? You ignored the thought for now.

 

“He.. uh.. was just on the counter.” you stammered.

 

“Frisk put him there?” he pressed.

 

“N-no.. he said he can move around on his own.. b-but that it's 'difficult'” you strained the quote with a twinge of irritation.

 

He leaned his head back, exasperated.

 “I fuckin' knew it.” he grimaced.

 

“..uh.. eh?” you lightly lifted yourself to straighten you shirt and pants before sitting cross legged before him, watching him pull his head back to lock gazes with you.

 

“In the underground he could move around freely all the time but he was in the soil. The only soil he has access to is what is in the pot which we assumed made him immobile..” he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, “Turns out that's not entirely true.”

You waited for him to continue and eventually he did.

 

“when you.. when you came back from work and found us in the hall..? uh. heh. yeah. i found him there like that, all by himself..” his fingers curled into his palms, taking another breath before he looked squarely to you.

“heh heh.. I asked him what he was doing but he just gave me attitude. After a few minutes I was.. pissed” he said lowly.

 

“..I.. I figured that was you” you murmured, looking to your hands briefly before forcing yourself to look back up into his eyes. His expression was so docile compared to the monster you saw in the kitchen last night, devoid of any warmth, primal. You shivered.

 

“..did I scare you?” his expression fell.

 

“N-no!” you quickly recovered, leaning forward towards him, “I-it caught me off guard a little but .. I- I don't get scared.” you said matter-of-factly, nodding with confidence.

 

“heh.. whatever you say.” he glanced to the side, not buying it.

You slowly got to your feet, it was your turn to extend a hand out and helped pull the skeleton to his feet which he accepted gratefully. He was surprisingly heavy and his hand was still rather warm, but not as warm as before. You realized your body heat must have been the cause and you lingered there for a moment, feeling his hand in yours. His bones were thick, his hands could easily wrap around yours but you had a hard time gripping onto him. His fingers must be longer, palms a little thicker, the structure was odd and you hardly caught what you were doing until you looked up to Sans' face and found him grinning at you drowsily, light beads of sweat forming at his temples.

 

“you need a _**hand** _ , babe?” he chuckled deeply.

 

“O-oh oops I'm sorry!” you quickly released his hand, too embarrassed to meet his eyes. You spun on your heel as another flare up blush swept your face, marching to the kitchen rather quickly, “C-coffee will _**u-ulna** _ take a few minutes, you want any?” announcing it as you went.

“yeah. coffee would be good.” he replied with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck with his now free hand as he glanced to the couch. A light hue had crept onto his face once more.

As you prepped the coffee maker it dawned on you that he had called you babe, it made it hard to not make a mess as you shakily added the coffee grounds with a grin pulling at your lips.


	13. Waffles Pair Well with Rule Breaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You spend the morning with a skeleton, have some coffee, make some jokes.. catch the news.  
> Oh how you hate the news.

You had made coffee, fed Chip and sat back down on the couch with a throw blanket from your bedroom, leaving your phone to charge. Sans had already turned on the TV to some local news station. You sat Indian style on the cushions with the blanket over your lap and Sans lounged with his feet up on the coffee table, his slippers tucked underneath. You found it hard to not take notice of his bone structure, curious by how he was even held together but he probably was just a monster shaped like a skeleton. Nevertheless, it was intriguing. 

“i think it's best if Frisk teaches you how to fight other monsters.” Sans said flatly.

 

It took you by surprise, taking a slow drink from your cup before responding, “I.. I shouldn't need to worry about fighting though, right? It was just a one time thing. I wont let my guard down again”

 

“you want to be around monsters, right?” he kept his gaze on the screen, the reporters going over the weather.

 

“Yes of course I do. Hopefully for the rest of my life even.” you tapped your fingers against the side of your mug, it was too easy to speak your mind to the skeleton.

 

“...” he glanced at you from the corners of his eyes, the white pupils locking onto your expression, “well then,  _**patell-a** _ the truth you'll be a natural in no time.” 

You giggle at the pun, continuing to watch your mug you miss how the skeleton is grinning even wider than before, “.. You think so?”

 

You don't get a response but feel a weight on the back of the couch right behind you, you glance over and see that he has slid his arm around you. That smooth fucker. You're unsure of how to react, not knowing where you stood relationship wise with the skeleton as he winked at you.

 

“yeah” he stated.

You opened your mouth, hesitating. He gently slid his hand onto your shoulder, his bony fingers gliding across your skin softly before pulling you into his side. You looked off to the TV with a flush in your cheeks and a chuckle escaping your throat, Sans was an awkward monster and his ribs pressed against your flesh covered ones yet it wasn't uncomfortable, just a tad cold.

 

“Sans, really?” you muttered through your smile.

 

“really what?” he drew out lazily.

 

You start up another round of giggles which he also gave a light hearted chuckle, turning his attention back to the TV as some footage of a government meeting filled the screen. You lightly sipped at your coffee and watched with him, feeling filled with warmth and.. something new, something terrifying yet good. You didn't have much time to think about it as the reporter cut in to narrate the scene.

_'Today it has been made official that monster-beings are prohibited from the use of special abilities or talents until further negotiation has been met.'_ You swallowed hard, feeling Sans fingertips grip on your shoulder tighten ever so slightly.

_'The governor has just announced this morning that it has been decided, unanimously, that the motion be pushed forward as safety for our citizens is their up-most priority.'_ The screen then cut out to white text on a blue background as the reporter then started to outline the new law, harshly stating that whoever broke this rule would be imprisoned by the federal government in a specialized location.

You felt sick, lowering your mug as the screen then went to footage of the special facility meant for perpetrators of this new law. You shot your hand down to grip the blanket in your lap but instead grabbed Sans leg, squeezing it tightly as your other hand lightly shook your coffee mug.

 

“They're sending them to camps..!?” you couldn't believe your eyes. Guard posts with riflemen, layers of fencing, spot lights, concrete buildings.. you felt tears rise into your eyes.

Sans looked to you, confused by your reaction but he obviously did not agree to the facility as his smile was strained, “not sure what you mean by that, babe. but..” he looked back to the screen, his pupils fading, “most monsters sent there wont last long..i'm sure a lot of them will fall down within a few days.”

 

“F-fall down..?” you asked, trying to settle yourself down you took another drink.

 

“it's what happens when a monster runs out of hope. they just.. fall. kind of like sleeping.. but they don't wake up until they turn to dust.” he could feel your distress and slowly ran his phalanges over your skin, tracing your bicep lightly, “though i don't see many monsters being charged, let alone caught.”

 

“That's terrible..” you whisper.

The report was over rather quickly, moving onto interviewing random human passerby's on the street to ask their opinions about the new law. You weren't listening as they driveled, some for, some against but most unsure about how to feel about monster-kind in general. 

 

“frisk will get it sorted. that kid is persuasive.” 

 

“Frisk is just.. just a child! They obviously don't even want to cooperate.. how will this work?” you loosened your grip on his femur but kept your hand on him.

 

“tori and asgore are with 'em. i know humans respect royalty.. at least to an extent.” he was trying to convince you, but you couldn't just shake it off as easily as he could.

 

“Won't people like Robert just try to start confrontations now..? They will just get a fine, maybe three days in jail at the most, while some monster gets thrown in.. in that place for just defending themselves.” you thought back to the video tape of Sans grabbing Robert outside your work, he could have been sent to that camp just with that action of displaying his teleportation ability or possibly by being charged with assault. You were thankful your boss didn't report it after all.

 

“yeah. some will try that.” he said with a nod, squeezing your shoulder.

 

“but-” he cut himself short, pausing.

The sudden interruption made you look over to the skeleton, his eyes were looking to the door of your apartment.

 

“What is it?” he didn't answer you as he quickly picked up the remote on the arm of the couch and muted the TV, you strained to hear what he was hearing but didn't notice anything.

 

“It was probably just Chip jumping around in my room” you murmur while rolling your eyes, your cat could be a real douche sometimes and had tricked you into thinking someone had broken into your home multiple times from his shenanigans. 

 

“nah” he stated, pulling his feet off of the table. He put on his slippers and stood while grabbing his jacket from the side of the couch. You watched him with surprise as he made his way to the door while pulling the blue coat over his shoulders, lightly touching the door with his hand as he listened for a moment.

You just kind of sat there until he slowly drew the door open to peer out of the crack before suddenly flinging the door open and in the moment you jumped to your feet, setting your mug down on the table and ran to the doorway as he flew out into the hallway.

 

“you  _**fuck!** _ ” he snarled deeply, the tingling of magic in the air pricked at your skin as you rounded out from the door into the hall and looked opposite of the stairs to the end window which was pulled open about a foot. Sans was rushing it with his hand extended but was too late as the ends of thick green vines pulled from the window sill and out of view.

It felt like a rock hit in your gut, you didn't have to ask what that was to understand as the dream played back in your mind. While the vines you saw were much smaller than the thorny ropes that cut your skin and crushed your frame it proved that your nightmare was partially true.. Flowey could summon vines. That's how he got into the hallway, that's how he got onto the counter and that's how he slipped from the third story window. Wait.

 

“W-we're on the third floor, h-how!?” but Sans wasn't listening and instead was trying to pull the window open more, but couldn't. Who knew how long that window had gone unused and was gunked up with years of neglect. He gripped the window sill and glared out of it, the tingling in the air turned into a heavy tremble much like someone playing bass too loud.

 

“S-sans..?” you hesitated, standing in the hallway with your pajamas on.

Your neighbors door opened, Frisk standing there while rubbing an eye with one hand. They were also in their pajamas and as they glanced around they smiled to you before looking over to Sans who was now turning around and striding back down the hallway towards you two. Frisk reached out for the skeleton and walked out from the door which hung open, he coldly passed them and then you. His eyes were black pits with his natural smile strained, almost twitching.

 

“W-where are you going? What's going on?” you bit into the inside of your cheek as you turned and watched him go to the stairs, only stopping to glance over his shoulder.

 

“stay here.” he ordered.

Frisk scampered over the hardwood as they rushed over to Sans but he quickly held out his hand and the child fell to the floor, you gasped and knelt down over Frisk. They seemed unhurt but looked back up to Sans with their eyebrows scrunched together, looking determined.

 

“i    s a i d    t o    s t a y    h e r e.”

 

His voice sent chills down your spine and as you looked up to the monster you caught a glimpse of blue light before he turned back to face away from you two, adding with a murmur, “take care of the little sun while i'm gone.” and with that he was rushing down the flights of stairs.

You sat in shock. He was almost two different people. There was the Sans that spent the morning with you, making jokes and pulling moves on you while you both laughed away the time and then there was this Sans who was intense, mysterious and dare you say it.. feral. You turned to look back to Frisk who was also kneeling on the floor, staring up at you quizzically and you got a flush into your face.

 

“L-little sun..?” you questioned.

Frisk merely wiggled their eyebrows at you.

 

“D-don't look at me like that! Where's your mother?” you scolded playfully but Frisk grabbed your hand as they stood, you were forced to also stand as you were led back to Toriel's apartment. It had been awhile since your last visit but it was as immaculate as ever and even had the soft smell of butterscotch lingering in the air, cozy was putting the atmosphere lightly. Frisk led you into the living room, the TV was on the same channel you were just watching with Sans, as they swiped a note from the table and handed it to you. You carefully took the paper and read over it, it was written in elegant cursive which was hard to understand at first but you got the gist that Toriel had to go attend to a political affair and would be back around lunch time.

 

“Hmmn.. Oh.. It must be about the new law..” you gave the paper back to Frisk but they raised an eyebrow at you.

 

“Weren't you watching the TV..?” you glanced to the screen and looked back to the child who was shaking their head lightly.

 

“Then who was-..?” it clicked. 

 

“Oh no, did Flowey leave because of the new law..? What is he planning to do, Frisk?” you bit down on your lip but they scrunched their brow in confusion, you sighed and knelt down so you could be eye level with them.

 

“The governor passed a new law that forbids monsters from using magic. Period. Otherwise they get .. sent away.” you didn't know if the child was familiar with camps but didn't feel it right to say something that dark to a child.

Frisk stared at you blankly, balling their hands into fists, crushing the paper as they ran off down the hallway towards their bedroom. You tentatively followed them, “F-frisk? What is it..?”

As you peered into the child's bedroom you noticed it looked pretty normal, a toy box, desk, bed and a rug was laid out in the middle of the floor. There were drawings hung on the wall, even a few of Flowey, you also noticed Frisk had drawn Sans but he looked like a blue egg, it made you smile fondly. Frisk was pulling on their every day clothes, you were careful to not look but were drawn back to them as they slammed the note Toriel left face down on the desk and pulled out a crayon from the drawer, scribbling something quickly over the surface. 

 

“Frisk?” you strained, what was this child doing now?

The child then turned, throwing the crayon back onto the desk and triumphantly crossed over to you, handing the new note over. You looked down at the wobbly handwriting done in green crayon.

 

You read it aloud, “Deer Mom, I will bee bak soon. Sans needs help. Love Frisk”

Frisk folds their arms and smiles broadly up at you while you look past the note back at them, “S-sans told us to stay here didn't he? Besides it is probably really dangerous..”

The child looks annoyed, taking the note back carefully from you before scampering back to the kitchen and you groan as you follow them. Watching the child place the note back onto the table before facing you, their determination was infectious and you felt it weigh on you.

 

Sighing you rubbed at your face, “You're going to leave whether I agree or not, huh?”

Frisk nodded, folding their arms.

Sighing heavier you drew your fingers back through your hair, you couldn't believe you were giving into a child. You had a feeling Frisk was a slippery snail and could get out of, and into, nearly anything they wanted. It was better for you to just play along, go with them and keep and eye on them.

 

“Okay. Okay.. but let me go put clothes on too.” Frisk was about to frown, “You can say hi to Chip too.” That did it. Frisk grinned widely and skipped out the door to your open apartment, you shut the door to Toriel's flat and looked at the open window. You went over and struggled to pull it back down to a closed position, it took a few moments of literally hanging off of the pane but you managed to get it to snap free and lock shut. With a sigh you meander into your flat where Frisk was nowhere to be found, the TV still on in it's muted state you closed the door and headed inside.

 

“Frisk? Frisk where are you?” you turned off the television before turning to peer into the kitchen, seeing nothing before you padded down the hall to your bedroom where the door was wide open. Walking inside you see Frisk laying on their stomach on your sheets, petting a lounging grey kitty who was purring with content, his eyes closed as his claws kneaded into your blankets.

 

“Oh, well let me get dressed and we will head out, maybe grab some breakfast too?” Frisk nodded as you went to your dresser and picked out your outfit for the day, just some jeans and a tank top with a red flannel to wear over the top. You paused as you held the flannel, glancing back down into your dresser you caught the sight of your blue one, tucked underneath a purple and green one you manage to wrangle it out and set the others back into place. You thought of Sans jacket and stood there for a moment before turning around to be met with Frisk's gaze, their eyebrows nearly vibrating off of their face at they picked up on what you had done. 

 

“S-stop with that, kid!” but Frisk only fell into the expression deeper, you flushed a bright red and decided to flee into the bathroom to get ready. It took only a few minutes to get everything in order, going back into your room to sit on the bed beside Frisk as you put on your shoes and laced them up.

 

“Think we should just text Sans and ask where he is..?” you asked while grabbing your phone from it's charging station, you checked the screen and frowned as you had no new messages and your phone battery was still quite low but quickly pocketed the device anyways.

You were met with an exasperated sigh and you grinned sheepishly towards Frisk, you felt like a teenager sneaking out of your parents house. You were a good kid, always on the straight and narrow, so disobeying Sans request made you feel nervous. During your whole childhood you had always listened to your parents, to your teachers, and never did anything bad besides accidentally breaking a plate in your preteens, which you admittedly cried over from shame. Although, it wasn't like you expected to find either of them and was a good excuse to take Frisk out to eat and bond with the little ambassador.

As you stood up from the bed you went to your own desk and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, leaving a real note for Toriel you briefly described that Flowey ran away and Sans went to track him down so you were taking Frisk to a diner around the corner for some breakfast and that you would be back soon. You then got a piece of tape and stuck it to the top of the note, turning to find Frisk standing behind you ready to get going.

 

“All right kiddo, let's go get some grub and then look around. Sound good?” Frisk scrunched up their face, you bit into the side of your cheek before grinning, “Ever had strawberry waffles with whipped cream..?”

Frisk paused and shook their head.

 

“Really?! Well, it'll be an adventure for you wont it? They're amazing and you can get a hot chocolate too if you want.” you smiled genuinely as the child seemed to be thinking over the offer, their stomach eventually won as they exuberantly nodded and skipped out of your apartment with you on their heels. You tacked the note to Toriel's door and walked Frisk outside, they were a few steps ahead and that was fine as it was easier to keep track of the child that way and you just had to point out where to go.

The sun was shining brightly today, the sky a bright blue and birds were chirping blissfully. It stained a happy smile on your face as you two strode along the sidewalk, though you noticed there were less monsters out on the street today. You tried to not think too hard on it. 

It didn't take long to end up at the diner, it was a small family run restaurant but you've been here many times over the years. They sat you two in a booth by a window, took your drink orders which comprised of waters and hot chocolates for the two of you, then left you to look at the menu's. You watched as Frisk peered out of the window, scanning the street like a bird of prey. You lightly pushed your menu to the side, already knowing what you wanted and softly cleared your throat to get the child's attention. You smiled at them, opening the menu for them and pointed to the picture of the strawberry waffle you described earlier.

 

“This is what they look like, they also have other flavors like blueberry or cinnamon apple.” you stated, watching the child browse over the lists for a moment before nodding to themselves and tapped on the picture.

 

“Got it, kiddo. Good choice.” you winked at them as your waitress came back with your drinks, plenty of whipped cream topped your mugs as they were sat before you, she also laid out two glasses of water before chirping up.

 

“Have we decided on breakfast today?” she looked to Frisk but you spoke up and drew her attention back to you, ordering for the both of you she nodded and went back to put in for your food.

You couldn't deny your sweet tooth as you spooned some of the whipped cream and ate it, Frisk on the other hand just drank it straight up, grinning widely with a creamy mustache left on their face. You giggled with the child before they wiped it off on their forearm.

 

“So Frisk.. I know you're the ambassador for all monsters but.. are you okay with that? Does it stress you out at all?” you weren't very good with talking to children, but Frisk seemed more seasoned than their appearance gave off.

They smiled and shook their head, taking another sip.

 

“Well I guess you have Toriel there with you too, huh?” you laughed lightly as Frisk nodded again, smiling wider. Nothing seemed to bother this kid.

 

“I'm sure you've had many crazy adventures in the Underground.. how did you do it?” you peered at the child as you slowly ate away at the whipped cream on your drink, getting it to a more manageable size.

The child thought for a moment before striking a pose, facing the window with their biceps “flexed” and poised diagonally upwards to the window. You burst into a fit of giggles, “Well you must be very strong. I think Flowey called it.. Determined?” you murmured, being drawn to all those things he had called you. It made you think Determination was the strongest type of soul, but you didn't have it. Did that mean you'd have a harder time with fighting than Frisk?

The child pulled you back to Earth by nodding and then tore open the little crayon set the waitress left behind, flipping the play mat upside down to the blank side and started to scribble something in yellow. It was a little heart.. A little sun, you realized with a soft blush. They then went on to color a few more different hearts; red, orange, green, light blue, blue and purple. Frisk beamed up at you as they pointed to you, then to the yellow heart.

 

“Y-yeah I guess that's me, isn't it? Who are the other hearts..?” you stared at the drawing as Frisk pointed to themselves and jabbed the red heart.

 

“So red is.. Determination?” you asked lightly, Frisk nodded, “..What does yellow mean?”

The child then signed something, but you couldn't understand sign language. They huffed at your confusion and looked out the window, scanning the street until they noticed a parked police car and pointed excitedly towards it. You raised an eyebrow.

 

“Uhh.. Help..? Or Discipline?” Frisk shook their head. “S-service?” they shook their head deeply. “.. Hmm..” it took you a moment as you thought, listing a few possibilities before one stuck out in your mind, “Justice?” Frisk nodded, clapping their hands.

 

“What does that mean..?” you leaned in closer over the table.

Frisk thought for a moment but ended up shrugging, your expression fell into disappointment. You weren't sure if Frisk really knew or just didn't know how to explain it, perhaps Sans would know?

 

Thinking of Sans you remembered this morning with your light conversation, you perked back up and murmured towards Frisk who was watching you intently as they took another drink of hot chocolate, “Can you teach me to be better at .. fighting?”

Frisk was glistening with Determination at this point, the light from the window shone in their hair as they puffed up their chest up and set their hands at their hips before giving you a confident nod.

 

“Sans thought it would be a good idea, just in case. Thanks, Warden.” you giggled as Frisk gave you a thumbs up.

Your waitress then came over, placing a strawberry waffle in front of Frisk before a blueberry one in front of you. You two went to town on your breakfast, continuing light conversation and some jokes with the young ambassador as you finished up your plates and drinks. The water was a good idea, as you drank it washed away the sticky sugar from your mouth and Frisk did the same. You set your glasses down at the same time and Frisk peered at you straight faced, looking solemn.

 

“Okay, okay.. I guess it's time we look around for a bit, right?” they nod as you both stand up from the booth, you walk up to the counter and pay for your meals, and tip, before walking back onto the street. You ask for Frisk's advice on where to start and they think for a moment before taking off with you closely on their heels. 

A nice walk around town would help burn off some of those extra calories you just logged, then you'd go back to the apartment and wait for Sans to show up before you met Jenny and went to New Grillby's for dinner. It sounded like a good plan to you, though as you found yourselves entering the city park you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach.

 

 


	14. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You follow Frisk through the park, on the search for Flowey and Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shit's gon' get heavy.

Entering the park you realized that there isn't very much activity yet. Some people were walking their dogs and kids Frisk's age at the playground squealed as they ran amok but Frisk hardly takes notice of them, too busy scouring the area in full bloodhound mode. You truck along behind them, not really looking but enjoying the little adventure. Of course a kid would think the park would be the best place to look, it brings out a lot of imagination in children. Maybe you and Frisk could spend some time on the swings or under a shady tree, you smile at the idea.

After about an hour Frisk is still digging through bushes and leading you through the wooded area of the park that stretched quite far, though you probably had asked for it after feeding a nine year old so much sugar and while you were getting sore from all the walking, climbing and traipsing uneven ground the child had shown no signs of slowing.

 

“H-hey Frisk maybe we should call it, he probably just went back to the apartment or something.” but the child wasn't listening to you as they looked under a fallen log. You frowned.

 

“I know you want to find Sans but-” you jumped back as Frisk quickly looked over their shoulder, frowning at you.

 

“Oh.. and Flowey as well, of course.” you said surely, folding your arms across your chest as the child went back to looking.

You had a feeling that Frisk wouldn't be giving up any time soon and thought it be best to call Toriel and inform her on your where-abouts. You figured Frisk must know the number as you pulled out your phone and attempt to unlock it but the screen remains dark. You press on the button rather hard a few more times and sigh deeply, it had died. That's what you get for forgetting to plug it in overnight, you were learning a lot today. You look to Frisk who was now about a hundred yards ahead of you.

 

“Ah shit..” you pocket the device and rush after them, not wanting to lose sight of the child.

 

Frisk soon leads you into a little clearing in the trees, tiny wildflowers pepper the rather tall grass that lick up your ankles to your calves. Frisk is standing still, partially behind a tree as they look out across the sun bathed clearing. The blades of grass softly swaying in a light breeze and carry a fresh scent through the air that quickly envelopes you. You carefully step up behind the child, placing a hand on their shoulder and look over the clearing yourself.

 

“See anything, Warden?” you smile, playing along.

 

Frisk didn't respond. It took you a moment to realize what they had been watching, on the opposite side of the clearing you saw movement darting through the trees. It was moving so fast that it was hard to keep up with, dirt and debris were being kicked up into soft clouds as the thing danced through the trees as if chasing something. You bit your lip trying to excuse it as a fox on the trail of a mouse but you knew better, this figure was much too big and while they were silhouetted in the canopy's shadow you could have sworn you saw vines lashing for the figure before burying back into the ground. 

After a few moments of this the figure managed to dog whatever it's been chasing into the opening of the clearing, vines crawling through the tall grass causing them to bend and sway. You took in a sharp breath as Sans flew out from the trees, a devilish grin plastered across his face. The hood of his jacket flapped behind him as he darted around, his jacket was undone but he kept it close to his body with his arms tightly pinned to his sides, hands in his pockets. His feet would briefly hit the ground before propelling him with immense speed and distance before having to kick back off of the Earth, it was as if gravity hardly effected him.

The skeleton was serpentining and at first you didn't realize why until a whip of a vine cracked through the air from the concealing foliage, Sans quickly pulled back a shoulder as the attack missed by an inch. A light twinkling of light reflecting off of his skull, he was sweating but you could hear him lightly laughing as the dance continued.

 

“HOLD STILL!” a hissing, cracked voice rang out through the clearing. It was Flowey. Your grip tightened on Frisk's shoulder but they remained still.

 

“why don't you, you little weirdo?” Sans huffed.

 

Another lash erupted from the ground, a series of cracks echoing through the trees as it continued to try whipping the skeleton. He side step, heel turned and jumped out of the way of every single attempt as he continued to push the flower further into the clearing where dodging only became easier. Not either of them had noticed the two of you tucked just behind the treeline.

 

“S-should we help him?” you whispered down to Frisk, you could hardly pull your eyes away but you noticed the child shook their head slowly.

 

“where did you think you would get to by escaping? we are in a concrete jungle now, pal. the only soil is here in this park, you're trapped.” Sans chastised to the grass, it was too tall for you to see Flowey's face and everything was moving so quickly it made it hard to pin down his location.

 

“The perfect place for showing  _other_ stupid humans LV!” the Flower cackled as little white pellets shot up from the grass towards Sans, he narrowly managed to dodge them. They raced for his left side which caused him to fall into a sharp spin, crouching into the grass as others sailed above his head before he leapt up into the air with the sound of harsh snapping as more pellets shattered into the soil. This where you saw him fully as he hung in the air for a moment, his jacket whipping around him while his white pupils flicked over the ground. 

 

His grin suddenly sharpened, “there you are” he quipped before being pulled back to Earth by an unseen force, the ground reverberating with the impact. You squeaked lightly, gripping onto the tree and Frisk as your legs grew uneasy. The tremor passed rather quickly but you wondered how far it had spread as the last thing you wanted was the police to show up.

For a moment you couldn't see anything, dust had blown up from the impact. Disheveled blades of grass as well as small little field flowers littered the air as they spun, drifting and dipped back to the ground. You watched as San's crouched figure slowly pulled back up straight, one hand gripped onto what looked like a sun flower. He had Flowey by the throat and pulled him up from the ground as much as he could but he couldn't quite uproot the creature.

 

“i know you have no soul but it gives you no right to steal someone elses..” Sans spoke lowly as he growled in the flowers face, you could see he was sweating heavily from the effort it took to catch the monster. You had no idea how long he had been at it.

 

Flowey had no soul.. ? You chewed on the inside of your cheek as you remembered your encounter in the kitchen, he had tricked you with embarrassment. 'That would be.. intimate.' the words rolled around in your brain, only adding salt to your realization that he used a perversion to suede the discussion where he wanted it to go. Knowing this you felt a jarring pain in your chest, you fell for so many lies that you were still discovering them a day later.

 

“If a human is stupid enough to give me their soul then they don't deserve to have it!” Flowey cackled, his stem squirming against Sans grip but to no avail.

 

Sans eyes narrowed at the flower, “alphys already told you they are working on a soul for you. so when you pull stunts like this it makes me want to throw you back into the underground you ungrateful-”

 

He was cut off as Flowey started to cackle madly, his stem and petals trembling under it's intensity. It made Sans pull his expression into a cringe.

 

“what” he asked flatly, his eye lids twitching.

 

You couldn't see from this angle what was happening but Flowey's face was contorting into something absolutely horrifying as it reflected back onto Sans' expression. His eyes went wide, a blue light igniting in his left socket that twisted and pulsed like fire. This was the source of the blue light you kept getting glimpses of, it was intimidating and showcased his magical ability rather well.

 

Flowey's voice came out like a child's, high pitched and velvety, “You seem to like humans.. but you didn't like to play with me all that much.”

 

The flower's petals sharply twitched as he shoved closer to Sans face, the skeleton pushed out his arm and leaned back away from the advancing monster. Sweat rolling down over his skull in streams as the light in his eye grew with intensity, he was truly terrified.

“That expression..” he cooed, a high pitched girlish giggle echoing in the field.

 

“ s t o p    i t “ Sans growled, clenching his jaws together the outline of his razor sharp fangs were well contoured in the bright blue light of his eye.

Frisk then wriggled out of your grasp and made their way into the clearing in a dead run, “F-frisk, wait!” you hissed as you reached out for the child but they ignored you.

 

“Ah fuck-” you groaned and then darted after the child, keeping your eyes on the two monsters as you tried to catch up to Frisk.

 

“i wont  _ruin_ it with a description!” the flower continued, the cackling seemed to give the monster strength as his stem strained against the skeleton's weakening grasp but instead of trying to run away the flower merely pressed forward towards him and actually started to send him into a back pedal.

The air crackled with magical energy, the pressure of it's density weighed on you and tingled against your skin as if you were in the middle of a thunderstorm. Something was very wrong. Sans was too focused on the thing in front of him to notice you or Frisk rushing through the field. His fangs glistening as his teeth pulled apart like gooey cheese, hardening into sharp points that paled in comparison to his impressive canines.

 

“y o u    w a n t    t o    h a v e    a     **b a d t i m e** ?” Sans snarled, his voice was deep and rolling.

 

“Oh my, but it seems you're already having one!”, vines started to curl up out of the ground, circling around the skeleton and forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

You managed to cover the ground faster than Frisk due to your long legs and snatched the back of their sweater, your feet slamming on the ground as you forced the child to trudge down to a stop but it didn't stop them from twisting and throwing their arms to wriggle away. You kept your grip as you both stood a couple hundred yards away. You were panting heavily as your eyes focused on Flowey's new appearance which looked like a blushing porcelain doll with large, void like eyes. The flower was still bearing down on Sans and he struggled to keep his feet firmly planted into the ground to avoid from slipping backwards and into his awaiting vines. Sans looked like a caged rabid animal, his form was trembling and as he spoke his teeth loudly clacked together.

 

“I'll send you back to  _**hell** _ .” and with that he flung a free hand from his jacket, a row of bones jutting from the ground and lined up around him, piercing and tearing through the thicket encasing him. The torn shreds quickly turned to dust and blew away across the field yet the flower seemed unaffected by it.

 

“You know there's no such thing..” the flower giggled, “but there is the void.” Flowey's face now twisted into something _you_ found terrifying as his childlike features fell and turned into a dripping white face with black sockets and open mouth, black cracks carving themselves above a drooped right eye and below a wide left one to it's grinning mouth. You couldn't pull away from the disfigured face, it felt like this was all a bad dream as your soul started to ache from witnessing such a creature.

Now came the oddest sound you've yet to hear, it sounded like some forgotten language but weaved into the words were static. The syllable's sounded warbled and as he spoke you saw a single tear spill from San's glowing eye and down his teeth. The bones he had summoned suddenly cracked and fractured loudly, some chips falling to the ground and dissipating. The flower shoved into the skeleton's grip, pushing him back farther and father until his back was pressed against the bones he himself had summoned. He let out a deep, frustrated grunt as his feet desperately tried to grip onto the ground but the angle of the bones at his back prevented him from gaining his center of gravity. He merely kicked and scrapped the ground, sending up soft clouds of dirt and grass that came back to nestle onto his clothing.

The flower continued to almost hum at Sans as he stared back to the flower, barking out while he still struggled, “ _ **g-get off of me!**_ ”

 

You had never really heard Sans yell until now, it wasn't necessarily loud but it was deep and you felt powerless to the situation. It was like a dog fight, you never get involved for fear of being pulled into it. Sans suddenly brought his free hand back up, his eye pulsating as a blue aura gathered upon his extended digits. You could feel the air crackling, hissing and growing cold as he gathered up magic.

Frisk suddenly turned towards you and shoved you roughly while twisting their body away, you gasped and let go as you stumbled backward, narrowly managing to keep your balance. Frisk shot off to the monsters, closing the distance rapidly as they came up and wrapped themselves around Flowey's stem and pulled them back from Sans. The jerking movement pulled Sans back onto his feet and shocked him out of casting whatever he was about to, the light fizzled from his hand as he stood with a slight hunch, knees bent and shaky while his shoulders heaved from panting. Flowey's contorted face was drawn over to Frisks and slowly melted away to his ordinary neutral smile. Sans wasn't recovering though as he looked over Frisk, fangs still bared. He then jolted and turned his head towards you, his expression caused you to flinch.

 

“Ah, Frisk. I had a feeling you'd come and join us.” Flowey cooed at the child as they glared up at him, trying to hold back a tremble. That face also must have triggered something within them like it had Sans as the child signed something harshly, their arms still around the plant.

 

“Of course it's funny! Just look at him.” Flowey laughed as if nothing had happened though it was cut short into a squeak as Sans tightened his grip into a strangle.

You carefully stepped forward towards them but Sans turned his gaze away from you as his bone attack crumbled to dust, the magical pressure in the air only got worse the closer you got. Flowey had pushed him to a dark edge as he jerked the Flower back to face him he was snarling as he spoke.

 

“i should just dust you.” he stated seriously and for once Flowey didn't respond.

Frisk shook their head and tried to sign something but Sans wasn't paying attention, even when you now stood just a few feet from him. You held onto your arms as you watched the edges of his frown tremble and twitch along with his narrowed eye sockets. He was still panting rather heavily, condensation, or sweat, glistening from his open jaws.

 

“everyone's crossed the line today” he glanced to you with his flaming eye and you flinched once again, he didn't care if you were startled or not as he held your gaze but you managed to not look away. After a few moments he then slowly drew his attention back to the monster in his hand, “but that stunt  _you_ pulled proved to me you aren't capable of saving or worthy of forgiveness.”

 

“Do it then.” The flowers sharp expression returned, his teeth like daggers as he cackled, “dust me all over these humans.”

You found yourself frowning at the description, Sans had told you monsters turn to dust when they fell down so it must mean they turn to dust when their life ends. Something so grim being thrown around as if it were nothing put knots in your stomach as you watched Frisk cling to the flower and reached a hand out to Sans in a motion you understood. 'STOP'.

The skeleton was shaking under the effort to stay in control, the wind in the clearing was picking up under his magical influence and it tore through your hair, through his jacket and cut through Frisks' sweater as they shivered from the temperature change. You could faintly hear the strain of Flowey's stem under Sans' grip, it brought you back to your nightmare and you came to a realization. Sans was in pain, much more pain than this Flower could experience whether it was due to a lack of soul or not.

 

You gently took a step forward, quietly whispering Sans' name as you reached out a hand and set your fingers on his out stretched arm, “Sans..?”

He didn't respond.

 

“I know you're really..  _really_ upset right now..” you carefully watched his unwavering expression, it reminded you of a feral animal, “But I.. I need you to listen to me..”

He gave off a sharp 'tcht', a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. A response was better than none as you waited a minute to gather your thoughts carefully before proceeding, tightening your grip a bit on him to make sure he felt you there.

 

“I need you to just take a moment and breathe.. what he showed you wasn't real-” you gasped as he sharply turned his expression on you now, the snarl being woven into his words as he growled.

 

“he  _**is** _ real.”

Your heart skipped a beat as he stared into you, leaving you flabbergasted and confused.

 

“and this weed can't get away with using him like that..” he sneered.

 

“I know you're mad. But it's best if you just.. let it go.” you flinched as he began to laugh, softly at first but it soon was rolling and as you watched this madness you felt tears well in your eyes. You were witnessing a real monster, something out of a horror film. The lines beneath his eyes were deep, cutting even, as his mouth was wide open during his cackling. Light bounced and glistened from his sharpened teeth in contrast to the hollow void inside of his skull, with his eye still blazed he locked onto you.

 

“let it go?! kid .. you don't know what you're talking about.” for some reason the word “kid” stung, the moisture in your eyes building.

Flowey remained quiet, soaking in the drama as Frisk tried to communicate with you two but they couldn't break the tension that now enraptured the both of you. You felt hurt, a bit scared but you refused to give up and only stepped a bit closer to wrap your fingers firmly around his forearm through the scrapped and dirty jacket. You felt like shaking him out of this bizarre state but knew that wouldn't necessarily work.

 

“I may not know context.. but I know this isn't like you.” you swallowed dryly before pulling your shoulders back confidently and gazed back to him without blinking, “You're smart and funny.. and.. kind.”

The light in his eye wavered, dimming slowly as he closed both of his eyes for a moment. His breathing was rushing through him in raspy, harsh pants. He turned his gaze away from you as he flicked his eyes open once more, taking a moment to pull his head back. The white pupils were back but they were dim as he stared back to Flowey who winked at him, that sent a chill through the skeleton and caused him to tense further.

 

“You forgot gullible” Flowey added, trying to goad him into another rage but the skeleton was spent. The sweat that had built up on his bones caused him to glisten and while the wind began to die down his grip on the plant was unwavering. With the pressure leaving the air you were able to let out a soft breath, smiling a bit as you continued to try coaching Sans down.

 

“I know you just want to protect the people you care about, but you don't need to do what you're thinking of doing.. it's something you can't take back.” you murmured, watching his teeth slowly melt back together into a solid, uneven grin.

 

“i wouldn't want to take this back” he breathed with a manic grin, his fingers starting to crush the stem beneath them and Flowey began to squirm in his grasp with a wince. Frisk could only watch with a strained face, frowning as their lips began to quiver.

 

Sans glanced through Flowey to Frisk, muttering bitterly, “he isn't a kid anymore.. you think he's asriel when he's not. he's flowey now.”

 

“What would it matter?” Flowey strained, coughing, “Not like you wouldn't be experienced in killing children” he laughed but it was soon choked off into a wheeze.

Frisk whimpered as you looked stunned between the two, Flowey was a child? He certainly didn't act like it. You were so confused and felt dropped right in the middle of a family dispute, not given enough context to take a stance with either Frisk or Sans you merely said the only thing you could think of.

 

“K-killing is not okay.” you looked to Sans as the tears spilled down your cheeks, he was behaving so strangely almost like he was a different person, “Not everything can be solved by being nice.. I know that now. B-but killing others just because you can-”, Sans cringed, “doesn't prove anything.”

 

You could feel the pressure fully lifting slowly, the magic aura in the area was beginning to dissipate with your words as you coerced the skeleton to calm down step by step, “Let's just take Flowey back home, we can decide from there on what to do. It's starting to get late..”

 

The ferocity of the situation was like nothing you've experienced but you knew, for a fact, that you had to draw his attention away towards something else. Sans didn't say a word but he slowly loosened his grip, sending Flowey into a light coughing fit you hadn't realized just how tight he had held the monster and felt the dark truth weigh on you that Sans was a much more intense individual than you had thought. What had you gotten yourself into?

Frisk was also letting Flowey go ever so slowly yet still stood right next to them, watching the two of you interact while wiping at their eyes with a single, tiny hand. You gently squeezed Sans arm with reassurance before letting go and brought your hand carefully back to your side, being sure to not make sudden movements that could further overwhelm him. Sans eased up further on the flower but didn't quite let go, he was looking at you intently.

 

“why did you even come out here?” he spoke pointedly and it shocked you, it was if he was _mad_ at you for whatever dark act he was forced to stop. As if it pained him you had interrupted, that you had stalled his hand.

 

“I just took Frisk to the park, Toriel had to leave and I thought it'd be fun to spend time with them.” you responded curtly, the lie just burbled out of you. You didn't think you could actually admit a child had persuaded you to go chasing after dangerous monsters. Plus, you had to get Sans away from Flowey before something bad happened.

 

He chuckled deeply, his eyes narrowing, “liar.”

 

You swallowed as your jaw tightened, “I'm being serious-” you pleaded, but he saw through you.

 

“you've never lied to me before and trust me.. now is not the time to start.” he was practically bearing into your soul, his emotions had shifted from Flowey onto you.

 

You just stared at him, unable to come up with anything fast enough before he lightly chuckled and rolled his shoulders into a shrug.

 

“i know how frisk is, i thought i knew how you were-” that stung.

 

“What does that mean..?” you had a lump forming in your throat but managed to break past it.

 

“sensible.” he retorted.

 

“Yes, and I found it sensible to make sure Frisk wasn't on the street by themselves.”

 

“they shouldn't be on the street in the first place” he spat.

 

“Okay..” you took a minute to draw in a breath and release it before responding, trying to remain calm, “I admit. That wasn't a good move on my part, and yes we stumbled onto you, but now we just need to relax and go back home.”

 

Your attempt to steer the conversation didn't work, “what if you found him before i did?” his voice cracked as he stared at you.

 

“I...” you felt tears well up once again, you knew where this was going and felt almost insulted he was treating you like a child, “Frisk would get him to come back with us, that's how they even had him in the first place, right?”

Flowey lightly squirmed in Sans grip, it didn't tighten. Frisk was silent.

 

Sans was chuckling lightly, shaking his head as he dripped, “pal. you'd be dead where you stand.”

It was such a matter-of-fact statement that it made you freeze, a light tremble washing over your body as you crossed your arms. Digging your fingertips into your flesh as you met his gaze with a rather hard one. You didn't know what was going through Sans' mind to make him turn into .. whatever this was, but you had just about enough.

 

“How could you say something like that?!” you raised your voice, it was too late to take it back as his eyes narrowed back to you.

 

“because you nearly died last night in your own apartment.”

 

“I'm not that helpless, Sans!”

 

“if i wasn't there-”

 

“If none of you were there I wouldn't have been in trouble anyways!” whoops.. you quickly tried to recover that statement, “Y-you can't just make me feel even worse than I do about a stupid mistake I made, you were there and you did save me-”

 

“you're just making my point.” he snorted.

 

“Let me finish.” you snapped. The both of you were locked in on each other, the rest of the world had faded away as your argument grew.

 

“so you're saying if you weren't around monsters you wouldn't have been in trouble? sure. because it's not like i also didn't have to save you from other humans.”

You lightly squeaked as your anger grew, it was hard to keep your breathing controlled as he was pushing all the right buttons to seriously piss you off and his expression had melted into a blank stare as he said all of these things. As if it was just so easy to be so mean.

 

“I'm a grown god damn woman, Sans! I have taken care of myself since I was sixteen years old, put myself through college with the scholarships I could get and because of the student loan debt,  _that I eventually had to get_ , I can't afford anything else besides some flat that's close by to my dead end receptionist job because I can't afford a car. It's just an endless cycle of full time work hours and coming home to be by myself, what kind of life is that? How is that worth anything? It's all pointless and if I didn't have Chip.. if I didn't..” you choked on your words before shaking your head, “I'm still alive by the skin of my teeth and you dare call me inept to protecting myself when all I've done is survive?”

He just stared at you as you blew up, Frisk was fidgeting with the ends of their sleeves but Flowey was smiling. You didn't notice it though as you had just uncorked a bottle that had been filling for years and it was too late to stop it now.

 

“I may not know much about monsters but I'm _really trying_ and every time I think I'm getting used to things or figuring something out.. Things like THIS happen!” Flowey's stem was gently wriggling as Sans grip was slipping.

 

“this is life..” he glared, “you don't make it out alive anyways.”

 

“No fucking shit!” you threw your arms up, seething.

It was at this moment that Flowey suddenly slipped from Sans grasp and bolted into the soil, knocking Frisk backwards to the ground as he did so. You all just stared at the soft mound of dirt that was all that remained of where the flower monster was, you felt like your heart had stopped.

 

“god . . . fucking. . “ Sans' eyes were pitch black, his hand still hung in the air but his fingers started to curl and clutch at the air, a soft blue light encircling his digits. “ _**damnit!** _ ” his hand suddenly turned into a fist, a spark of magic energy splitting from between his digits before dissipating, the snap of electricity made you reel back as he slowly turned to face you. Sliding both of his hands into his jacket pockets roughly.

 

“well there you go. he got away and is alive. just like you wanted.” he was growling as the words left him.

 

“I didn't want him to run off again!” tears spilled down your face as you choked out desperately, “I get that you're frustrated but stop trying to take it out on me.”

 

“you may not have heard this, _kid_ .” he stretched the word with condescension dripping from it, “but he wants to kill a human and take their soul. i have to go try to find him all over again with only a few hours of daylight left.”

Frisk pulled themselves up from the ground, not even bothering to dust off as they rushed between you two and rapidly looked to you then to Sans before looking back again. Their eyes looked with despair for you two to just knock it off but it was too late for that, it was getting personal and belligerent. You both locked gazes before he slowly turned his back to you and started to walk back through the clearing.

 

“Don't turn your back to me, Sans!” you yelled, stomping a foot forward, “You can't just leave like this!”

 

“oh no look what i'm doing” he said sarcastically, holding his arms out as he walked without turning back to you.

 

“Real fucking mature, Sans.” you growled with frustration, “Just.. Just come back with us and have something to eat before you exhaust yourself.”

 

“i thought you said you wouldn't get hurt if monsters weren't around” he threw back bitterly, jerking his hands back into his jacket as he was halfway to the trees.

 

“You know that's not what I meant!” you felt Frisk grip onto your flannel, staring up at you but you couldn't bring yourself to look down at them as your focus was all on Sans' back. Your gaze was crawling all over it.

 

He kept walking, you stammered, “A-at least let's n-not end on an argument, please.”

Your words fell on deaf ears as he continued his strides, you could tell he was tired from how he moved but you also felt exhausted and desperate the more distance he put between you two.

 

“Just.. STOP!” you shouted, it bounced around the clearing and even startled yourself as you lightly rubbed at your arms. He did stop, but he didn't look back. You walked forward a bit but then hesitated, you felt hurt.. you felt scared of what had just transpired. This wasn't like Sans, this wasn't the skeleton that held you this morning and cracked jokes with you over text. This was something he had buried deep, triggered by Flowey's tormenting, and he couldn't face it. It had displaced him so badly you didn't even feel like you were talking to the same monster and it was terrifying to see your best friend be .. mutated by raw emotion.

 

“I.. I'm scared of what will happen if we leave this as it is” you murmured, you were surprised he had heard you at all as he gently turned to look at you from over his shoulder. His smile was strained with his pupils locked onto you.

 

“...you told me you don't get scared.”

 

You bit your lip and looked down at your shoes, they were grass stained and dusted with dirt. A few droplets from your tear stricken cheeks pattered across the fabric, lazily rolling down into the soil.

“Only when you're around..”

 

It was quiet, you didn't want to look but eventually you gained the courage to look back up and only saw the tree line. The grass lightly waving at the now empty spot where he once stood, he had teleported away and that had probably hit you the hardest. The sadness gave way to a distressed anger, he was willing to leave you angry, frustrated and disturbed just like how he was feeling. It wasn't just simple feelings of mistrust at this point, you felt.. dirty from the interaction. Like the grime of his past was thickly oiled across your skin and it's caustic smell was branded forever into your memory.

You sniffed and rubbed your face with your hands as you and Frisk stood in the field. They lightly reached up and grabbed the sleeve at your elbow, encouraging you to look down at them you smiled and wiped away the tears before speaking up, “S-sorry Frisk. That was just.. really intense..”

 

The child nodded solemnly but didn't let go of your sleeve until you stopped touching your face and they grabbed your hand instead with a gentle smile, beaming back up at you. You didn't say anything as Frisk pulled you back towards the opposite tree line, back the way you came. You didn't want to look back, to be met with the empty field for a second time would probably send you into more tears. Your body felt heavy as you passed through the forest part of the park and emerged in civilization, though you didn't take notice of anyone playing in the park as you were too wrapped up in your own emotions. You hadn't felt an ache like this in years, you thought you'd never have to experience it again.

 

The walk home was so uneventful you hardly even realized you were climbing back up the steps to the floor of your apartment, still hand in hand with Frisk. All you wanted to do was just take a shower and fall into bed, your body was so sore and you mind was racing through all of the screen shots your mind had saved of your fight. You couldn't just get past the things he said, how he sounded as he picked you a part and the face you found yourself thinking about at work was now tainted into some creature from a nightmare.

You were drawn out of your thoughts as you heard worried voices mumbling back and forth as you two ascended the staircase and as you came to the landing you were met with the view of a magnificently large monster, King Asgore in all his glory, but with a button up floral shirt and jeans. He was much more brilliant than on the TV and he even had to lightly hunch so his horns wouldn't graze the ceiling, he was consoling a shivering Toriel who had her hands in her face with her apartment door wide open.

You didn't think tonight could get any worse but it just did, your heart already felt like it shattered into a million pieces and now someone was coming along and breaking those pieces into smaller little particles of dust methodically. Frisk raised their free hand and waved, catching Asgore's eye he lightly gasped and smiled fondly to the child.

 

“There you are, Frisk.” he said calmly, Toriel on the other hand looked up quickly with her red eyes and let out an exasperated gasp as she rushed over to the two of you and stood with her hands on her hips, leaning over the both of you with a scowl that rivaled all of the screen shots of Sans' in your head.

 

“I was so worried, my children!” she gazed down harshly at the two of you.

 

“I-i'm so sorry..” you choked on the words, unable to meet her gaze like a puppy being scolded for chewing on a slipper. Today was just too much, too overwhelming.

 

Suddenly you were enveloped in a big, warm fluffy hug as Toriel let out a soft cry even though she was smiling, tears rolled down her cheeks, “Don't scare me like that again..”

You let out a breath and wrapped a free arm around her as Frisk refused to let go of you and they did the same with a big grin on their face. A hug was just what you needed right now. It filled you with warmth, a comfort that soothed your emotional wounds. It slowly started to fill the little cracks in your heart, abating the cold emptiness with a genuine love. Her fur was so soft, more so than Chip's, and smelled of home made pastries, the bad things you had just experienced were lightly being flitted away as the mothering creature held you. You could feel a wavering tightness crawl up your throat as more tears began to gather into your eyes, slipping from your shut eyelids to trail down into the woman's soft purple dress. You really, really didn't want to let go but eventually her grip lightened and you found yourself standing there wiping away at your eyes, again.

 

“Oh.. my dear, what has happened.. ?” Toriel lightly hunched over you, setting a soft hand-like paw on your arm. You could have broke down right there in the hallway.

 

Asgore's voice was gentle as he came up and stood behind Toriel, “Come now. Let's go inside and make some tea, we can then talk about what happened.”

You couldn't even force a smile and instead nodded, you honestly just wanted to take a shower and be alone. But as you followed them into Toriel's flat the smell of buttery croissants and melty milk chocolate wrapped around you in an embrace just like Toriel's physical one.

 

You felt your spirits lighten if by just a bit, maybe the shower could wait after all.

 _'Just a few minutes'_ you told yourself, _'to explain what happened and eat something light before crashing at home. With Chip. And a blanket.. and Netflix..'_ Yeah. You could do that.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! kukuku~  
> Cuz what's valentines day without a little heartache?
> 
> I know it's mean to post this kind of chapter with no follow up one but I've worked sooo hard on this guy for a few days and needed to publish it before I edited myself into a coma. I'll be working on the next chapter tomorrow and hopefully will be able to post it Monday at the latest if everything goes according to plan. 
> 
> Thanks for reading guys, we're getting into the nitty-gritty good stuff.


	15. Wash Away the Dirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You talk things over with the help of Toriel and Asgore before heading back into your apartment to unwind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week is gonna be a different upload schedule with this chapter uploaded now and a bomb in the next few days. It's getting more comfortable for me to write, easier to get it down and edit, so I'm moving much faster than I have been able to since I started the series. (Chapter lengths are twice as long as they were as well.)
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting, kudos, ect.  
> I really am enjoying the experience of writing again and you guys just add icing on the cake. <3
> 
> My Tumblr is the same username as this website, so feel free to hit me up or follow me there as I'll also throw up announcements for chapter releases/updates.  
> AllocateAloe.Tumblr.com
> 
> ALSO here are the songs mentioned in the chapter, first two are done by Melanie Martinez and I highly suggest her entire Cry Baby album.  
> \- Soap, Melanie Martinez  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGjdSGhsD7o  
> -Play Date, Melanie Martinez  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxs_mpWt2BA
> 
> -Summertime Sadness, Lana Del Rey  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdrL3QxjyVw

Okay maybe hiding and taking a shower was a better idea.

 

You were sitting at the table with the residual flavors of a chocolate stuffed croissant coating your tongue, you slowly drank at scalding golden flower tea to wash away the sugar. Toriel and Asgore sat opposite of you and Frisk, whom was still munching away at their third pastry. You guessed this was the time to speak up so you did, albeit shakily.

You went over your morning, being vague of your gentle moments with Sans, and trailed on to your adventure to breakfast then onto the park. You went on to describe the scene as you remembered seeing it. You went into detail of the faces Flowey had emulated but it didn't seem to click with either of the two goat monsters as they listened casually, letting you take your time as you paused. Your story cutting off right before you and Sans had the argument.

When no one spoke up you started to bite at the inside of your cheek, unsure of how to word what happened next but you figured it was better to be honest.

 

“Sans was.. really bothered by it.” you murmured, fiddling with your cup.

 

“It looked like he was going to.. to kill Flowey right there in the park.” you watched the golden liquid slip around as you rocked the cup around on the table, “I don't think I've seen anything as.. sick as that before.”

Asgore remained calm, taking a drink of tea as Toriel spoke up softly while setting her folded arms on the table in front of her, “Fighting happened in the underground from time to time.. Although I would never suspect Sans of that kind of behavior.. I took him for being too lazy to do anything besides make jokes” she chuckled lightly, seeming lost in a memory before blinking and looking back to you.

 

“It wasn't.. _just_ that.” you continued, still unable to make eye contact with the group, “We got into a pretty bad fight.”

 

“Oh.. I see.” she murmured, thinking for a moment. It was Asgore's turn to speak up.

 

“Whatever he had seen it was clearly something very personal. I don't know much about the two brothers, I faintly remember .. something” he scrunched his brows together, “but every time I think it's coming back to me, on the tip of my tongue, it slips away again.”

 

He cleared his throat while setting his cup down on the table, “Flowey has tried the same trick on us before.”

Toriel nodded and looked into her lap, blinking rapidly as tears built up. Asgore glanced beside him to her and gently placed his fingers on her arm before looking to you once more. You felt his gaze and drew your eyes up to meet him, he was frowning.

 

“He had turned a simple conversation into something.. personal. I'm not sure how, but he was able to change his face but instead of the creatures you described.. He had the face of our son who passed away.”

He hesitated as Toriel ran a hand over her face, murmuring, “He was so young when he passed.. we are unsure of how he knew so much about Asriel.”

 

You blinked at the name. Sans had said that Flowey wasn't Asriel anymore to Frisk.. what had that meant? Was he cursed to become a flower? But that didn't make any sense as Toriel and Asgore were sure of their own sons fate. You looked down to Frisk who was poking an end piece of flaky crust across their plate absentmindedly as Asgore continued.

 

“I don't know what he was trying to do by following through with such an act, it shocked us both. He even sounded just like our son.” Asgore pressed his broad back against the chair, letting go of his cup to slowly stroke at his golden beard, “It was Frisk who had to step in and take control of the situation, it wasn't long before he was back to his neutral state and it seemed like a big joke.. a prank on us.”

 

He shook his head solemnly as Toriel looked back up to you, “Flowey is a different kind of monster. He doesn't have a soul so he doesn't feel emotions like we do so it seems that he gets enjoyment out of.. getting reactions.”

 

“Is he dangerous..?” you asked.

 

“Dangerous..?” Toriel looked to Asgore who glanced at her, “I'm not sure.. but he has been protective of Frisk and they seem to get along well.”

You nodded slowly, bringing a hand up to your face as you rested your forehead into your palm. Your head was starting to hurt. Was he just trying to cause a scene, knowing it would cause a panic and spell trouble for all monsters in the city.. or was he really trying to get a soul for his own purposes? It seems that Sans obviously felt he was a danger, enough of one that he was pushing himself to find the monster all on his own and lashed out at you. Something you never could have prepared yourself for, it was so out of his character.

Frisk was idly messing with their left overs, not taking part in the discussion and you hardly noticed. Your limbs felt heavy, your throat was constricted and your eyes were burning. You honestly felt sick. Toriel reached across the table and lightly touched your hand with hers, you looked up to see her smiling compassionately.

 

“What happened in this argument, my dear? It's clearly bothering you very deeply.” she kept the contact with you, she genuinely wanted to be there and Asgore nodded in agreement with a smile.

 

“Oh.. Uh..” you weren't sure where to begin.

 

“I-i talked him down from.. whatever he was about to do and he just- turned on me.” you suppressed the tightness in your throat, “His expression was so intense at first..”

Toriel nodded slowly, a frown drawing on her face as they watched you gain the courage to continue.

 

“He started to get really.. demanding about why we were there.. a-and I agreed we probably shouldn't have been.” you already went through this earlier but couldn't help but to repeat it, “But he was saying how something bad would have happened if we found Flowey first.. B-but if we hadn't come something bad would have happened for sure.”

 

“It sounds like he was really pushed to the limit, I wouldn't take what he had said to heart until he gets back so you can talk it through.” She smiled, a burning suddenly flaring in her eyes, “I'll be sure to have a chat with him too.”

 

You swallowed but cracked a smile, Toriel was looking out for you and she felt like the mother you never really had. She took her hand back and shook off Asgore's before standing, “I'll bring us some more tea.”

 

“Thank you, honey.” the king grinned, she lightly glared at the man.

 

“Dreemurr..” she scoffed.

 

“U-uh oh. Sorry, Toriel. Thank you.” he grinned sheepishly as she held her gaze on him before turning back into the kitchen. You raised a brow at the odd interaction but Asgore merely smiled to you.

 

“Sans is a good man.. a little mysterious and to himself, but good. He does a good job of protecting Frisk during our ambassador meetings.”

 

“W-wait he works as Frisk's body guard?” you gawked.

 

“Uh.. why yes. Along with a few other of Frisk's close friends.. did you not know this..?” he blinked curiously.

 

“N-no. He doesn't usually talk about himself..” you mused with a frown, “he's good at deflecting. Does he not trust me..?”

 

The man chuckled softly, a deep sound that came from deep within his gut, “Ah, my child, Sans doesn't talk about anything with anyone. Not even with Papyrus.”

 

“R-really...?” you watched as the man recovered himself, setting his hand back on the table as Toriel came into the room with a kettle.

 

“Oh yes, my dear. Sans doesn't find himself interesting enough to talk about.” Toriel giggled, filling your cup from over your shoulder before moving onto Frisk's who smiled pleasantly up to their care taker. Toriel softly pecked a kiss on the top of the child's head sending them into a fit of blushes before rounding the table to top Asgore's cup before her own.

 

“Oh.” you took a light drink from your cup, the hot tea numbed your aching throat and soothed your tired muscles.

 

“Try to not think too much on it..” the woman softly spoke, “I know you two will get things sorted out, he does care for you.”

 

You blinked wildly up to the woman, your soul fluttered at the words but you couldn't help but doubt them, “How do you know..?”

 

She grinned knowingly, “I haven't known him to miss Papyrus' bedtime story before, he is usually always at home.”

 

You felt flush, realizing that she must have seen you both on the couch last night. The woman gave you a flirtatious gaze but it quickly broke as a soft fit of giggles broke through her, “He must not be feeling as _bone_ -ly.”

She tried to muffle her giggles with a hand to her lips but her struggles only led into a snort and as she stood with her eyes wide you and Asgore both began to laugh. She began to chuckle once more and as you sat in the moment you realize that you were feeling slightly better, Toriel and Asgore were such gentle monsters. You quickly drank down the rest of your tea and sighed lightly.

 

“I should be going though, I have to feed my cat and clean up a bit before I go out with a friend later tonight.” you looked to the two monsters as they grinned suspiciously, it took you a moment but you quickly recovered, “N-no not like that, not .. well.. I guess we had plans- but- uh. A coworker is coming over, Jenny, and I'm taking her to New Grillby's.” That was awkward. You could only grin sheepishly as they chuckled and nodded.

 

“Grillby is a good man and a rather good cook.” Asgore stated, you agreed with a nod as you stood shakily. You felt exhausted.

 

“Oh yes, I've been there a few times already but I know Jenny will really enjoy it.” You smiled to everyone, tossing Frisk's hair lightly as they turned in their seat to smile at you. It seems they were also feeling the effects of the fight as they were rather to themselves.

 

“I'll see you tomorrow, okay?” you grin and Frisk nods, beaming. Toriel sees you out and you thank her once more before she shuts the door gently and you throw open your own flat. Pushing the door weakly behind you as you step in and it just swings, stopping a few inches of being actually shut but you don't notice as you trudge inside your flat towards your bedroom to gather some comfortable clothes and your charger before heading into the bathroom. You plug in your phone and turn it on before turning on the shower to heat up and you traipse back into the living room, plopping onto the couch with a heavy sigh.

“damnit..” you murmur, reaching up to rub at your face. It took a moment for a familiar scent to drift up from the cushions and envelope you in a metallic, musky air. You froze and moved your hands to look around.

 

“Sans..?” you murmur, but you were met with your empty apartment.

 

Jumping up you spin and look back down at the couch, his smell had totally soaked into the fabric. Flushing you rubbed at your arm while recounting this morning, at any other time you may have enjoyed it but right now it left you unsettled.

You stepped back before turning around, meandering on back to your bathroom which was fogging up with the soft smell of daisies. You quickly checked your phone and found no new messages, you thought for a moment, hovering over the text message button before swiping to your music player and started up your current playlist and turned the music up. The soft trail of notes started playing as you set it back onto the counter and stripped, your clothes really weren't all that dirty besides your shoes and pants but you still left the clothing bunched up into a pile on the floor before stepping into the current.

A deep sigh escaped your lips as you hunched beneath the stream, the water was scalding but it felt so good over your tense back and aching muscles. You closed your eyes as the lyrics began playing from your phone.

'Think I just remembered something  
I think I left the faucet running  
Now my words are filling up the tub  
Darling, you're just soaking in it  
But I know you'll get out the minute  
You notice all your fingers pruning up _'_

 

You swallowed dryly at the song, but a soft smile started tugging at your lips as you let out a dry laugh and washed your face with your hands. Letting the water cascade through your eyelashes and cleanse your eyes before you started to sing along, thinking back to this morning with Sans.

 

_'I'm tired of being careful, tiptoe, trying to keep the water warm  
Let me under your skin '_

 

You ground the words as they flowed from you. He kept so much from you while you were like spilled milk, you had gushed about your life, your pet peeves at work and he had kept up this wall you hadn't even noticed until today. It was like he was trying to keep distance between you two and you could understand if he wanted to just be friends but the way he pulled you to him this morning, how he slept through the night with you on the couch.. Good thing the water had already started turning your skin pink.

By the time you were wrapping up your thoughts to focus on something else the song had ended and transitioned to the next, 'Play Date'. You really couldn't help but singing louder as you grabbed your body soap to help scrub off the emotions. You hummed the intro before laying into it.

 

 _'You call me on the telephone, you feel so far away_  
You tell me to come over there's some games you want to play  
I'm walking to your house, nobody's home  
It's just me and you, you and me alone  
  
We're just playing hide and seek  
It's getting hard to breathe under the sheets with you  
I don't want to play no games  
I'm tired of always chasing, chasing after you  
  
I don't give a fuck about you anyways  
Whoever said I give a shit about you?  
You never share your toys or communicate  
I guess I'm just a play date to you'

 

You couldn't feel your tears as you sang and even though you still were stinging from the initial realization you found some new found confidence through the music. You knew you had feelings for the skeleton, he had played you well in his bony hands. Your motto sprang into your head as you sang, 'It's not a mistake if you learn from it'.

 

 _'Ring around the rosy_  
I never know, I never know what you need  
Ring around the rosy, I want to give you, want to give you  
What you need  
  
I don't give a fuck about you anyways  
Whoever said I give a shit about you?  
You never share your toys or communicate  
I guess I'm just a play date to you  
  
You know I give a fuck about you everyday  
Guess it's time that I tell you the truth  
If I share my toys, will you let me stay?  
Don't want to leave this play date with you '

 

You knew the song was conflicting, but it was just how you felt at the moment. On one hand you saw the grinning lay-about who could clean a plate in sheer seconds, hang with you at home and run his rough finger tips over your skin.. While the other was a savage and intense monster who argued in the most obnoxious way, sarcasm and using your own words against you just like a child.

You growled as you continued to scrub until you became a daisy incarnate. You ran through quite a few more songs, letting the tears flow free and even carefully dancing in the shower as you washed your hair. By the time you stepped out of the shower you felt relaxed, confident and smiled with determination. You didn't even care to check your phone as you got in your lazy clothes and gathered your phone which was still connected to the charger. You threw the plug into the wall by your bed before collapsing onto it face first. The bouncing of the mattress caused Chip to chatter annoyance, he peered at you through narrowed eyes and you merely stuck your tongue out at the feline before gently petting his soft fur along his side.

You turned the music down on your phone before unlocking the screen, bringing your ankles up into the air to lightly swing them as you laid on your stomach. You scratched under your cats chin as you checked your emails, responding to a few work related ones before staring at your home screen. You felt like a text from Sans was going to come in at any moment. But it never did. You huffed as you opened up a social media app and browsed instead. It only took a few minutes for you to pass out literally on your face, hand draped over Chip who purred happily as a puddle of drool seeped into your sheets.

***

 

You heard a light voice but just grumbled, you were too comfortable to move. You felt someone lightly shake your shoulder but you just groaned louder, trying to tell them to go away but it just came out as muffled garbles. The voice then giggled above you as they suddenly shoved down onto your back, sending a string of cracks to trail up your spine and you let out a dry hack, lifting your head to look through the mess of your hair at the perpetrator.

 

Jenny laughed next to you on the bed, she was wearing a cute casual outfit and leggings, “Hey sleepy head.”

 

“J-jen..?” you slurred.

 

“Yeah, hun. It's me. Your one true love.” she cooed, winking at you.

 

You softly laughed and pushed over onto your side, pulling your hair out of your face as you raised an eyebrow at your friend, “What are you doing here-” you gasped. You totally forgot about dinner plans tonight.

 

“Awwe, I'm hurt you forgot about me!” she folded her arms and stuck out her lower lip, pouting playfully.

 

“Oh god, Jen.. I'm so sorry what time is it..?” you checked your phone right as she spoke up.

 

“It's around six. I thought I'd come over a bit early so we could hang out one and one.” she looked around the room before meeting your gaze with a devilish smirk, “and tell me all about bone boy.”

 

You cringed, attempting to change the topic, “How did you even get in here..?”

 

“The door was open.” she stated with a grin, “There a.. reason for that..?

 

“N-no!” you cringe, “Must have been an accident..”

 

“Wellll you didn't answer me about Mr. Bones.~” she hummed, but you turned your gaze away from her and bit the inside of your cheek as you pulled yourself up.

 

She quickly dropped her face into a frown, “Oh no did you guys break up..?”

 

“W-WHAT? J-Jenny oh my hell-”

 

“I knew it. That's why you look like shit!”

 

You blank faced. Really? You stared at her without a word for about a solid minute before cracking a smile while trying to comb through your hair with your fingers, “Jen, we aren't- I mean, we were never together.”

 

“C'mon you can't lie to me. You look just like Rose when Steve dumped her a few months ago. It's total break up syndrome.”

You remembered that. She came into work with her eyes all red and puffy, her attempts at mascara were valiant but in vain as it dusted her lids in a sloppy haze while her hair was frizzy and uneven. You had felt bad but didn't really know her enough to say anything, Jenny on the other hand wasn't as shy and knew all the juicy details. You didn't want her to really know the details of this though.

You forced a laugh and smirked, “No I just didn't sleep very well last night is all..”

 

She then opened her mouth into a soft 'O', winking at you as a small squeak pressed from your throat. God damn it, Jenny was so difficult to have a conversation with when boys were involved.

 

“Jen-”

 

“Did he give you a pass into the bone zon-”

 

“JEN HE'S A SKELETON!” you squealed.

 

“That wasn't a no!” she sang, “When does he get here? I hope he's as easy to frazzle as you are.”

 

You hid your face behind your hands, frazzled but grinning like an idiot. You could hear her laughing it up and you sighed before looking back up and crossed your legs before speaking up.

 

“I think he's just.. busy with something else. It'll be us tonight.”

 

Nothing got past Jenny, she noticed you were more quiet and your red eyes gave away something had obviously happened but instead of continuing to heckle you she genuinely asked you, “Wanna just hang with Ben and Jerry tonight? We don't have to go anywhere if you don't feel up to it, girlie.”

You laughed a bit and shook your head, a drink or two at Grillby's sounded like a great escape. You didn't think you could sit in your apartment and even if Sans did come back to apologize, hypothetically, you didn't want to think about it anymore let alone have to actually hash it out. Not yet. You were exhausted and were rallied to go out with your friend and forget the whole mess entirely, just for a few hours.

 

“Nah. Though maybe on the way back let's get some ice cream and maybe watch a movie or something.” you suggested and she nodded to it before lounging out over your bed, pulling out her phone to play on it as you scooted off to the foot of the bed to stand up and stretch. You leaned back over the bed to snatch up your phone, it was now fully charged, and went to the closet to pick out your favorite outfit. Some music started up behind you which you recognized as Lana Del Rey, It was your turn to irritate your friend as you started to sing rather loudly.

 

“I got that summertime, summertime _SANDWICH~_ ” you giggled as Jenny groaned loudly.

 

You decided to push it a little farther, singing fully, “summertime saaaaaaannnwich~”

 

“No please not this song, don't do that to this song!”

 

You wiggled your hips as you fished out the clothes and started to change, “ _**su-su-su-summertime ssaaaaAaaAannNNDWICH~!** _ ”

 

“Oh my god, fine!” she then put on some type of lyricless chill step, you liked the tune so you kept wriggling your hips as you put on your clothes.

 

“Sexy wiggle, gurl!” Jenny hooted, you started to laugh purely from the heart. Something about Jenny was just contagious and you could feel the heaviness of your heart lifting, you wondered if it had to do with her soul type..

 

Jenny broke through your thoughts as you finished getting your clothes on, “Oh hey, let me totally do your hair!”

 

You grinned as you left the room and ducked around to your bathroom, gathering all your beauty supplies in your arms before stepping back out in the hallway. A flash of color pulling your gaze back towards the living room but you were met with the usual scenery, you lingered for a moment as you carefully examined every nook and cranny before Jenny started yelling to you about 'falling in' and you chuckled.

 

“Must be imagining things..” you murmured before turning your back to skip back into your bedroom.

 

The two of you spent the next forty five minutes dolling each other up, showing weird youtube videos to each other and effectively removing yourself from the happenings of the afternoon. Prepping for a night on the town was the trick to finally pull your thoughts away from the fight, tonight was going to be all about you.. and that settled well on you for once.


	16. Get Dunked On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a nice night with friends both new and old.. at least for a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Two chapter upload tonight and more should be here during the weekend.  
> Sliiight warning as thing are going to get violent during this chapter and the next.
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you guys enjoy it!

The walk to New Grillby's was a breeze. You laughed and chatted with your friend as you walked side by side up to the bar, there was a bustle in the city and it's energy filled you with excitement. You came up to the bar and led Jenny inside, she was awestruck in the same way you had been first entering the establishment. There was a good crowd tonight, some humans but mostly monsters. The dogs playing poker lifted their heads and you waved in recognition to them, they smiled while wagging their tails and returned the gesture as you led your friend up to the counter and sat down.

 

“Heya, Grillby!” you smile to the bartender, he was wiping down a glass and looked over the both of you with a nod.

 

“Whoa..” Jenny was captivated by him but he seemed used to it, a bright jagged grin breaking through the flames as he chuckled.

 

“Yeah, Grillbz is pretty hot right?” you elbowed Jenny which sent her into a flurry of stammers and apologies as the flames on Grillby's head burst with a shy embarrassment.

You broke through your friends stuttering and ordered a round of drinks which she gladly used to shut her trap, a flush staining her cheek as she glared at you but you merely burst out with laughter. The noise only melting into the upbeat atmosphere of the bar. You two drank, talked about work and even engaged in some light shit talking to which Grillby seemed entertained by. You suppose monsters didn't engage in that type of conversation often with the exception of probably Sans' bad humor and ability for sarcasm. You shoved him out of your mind as you moved onto your third round, ordering some fries to split as you two gossiped.

 

“Robert hasn't been bugging you though, right?” Jenny inquired, sipping at her fruity cocktail.

 

“Nah. He's still a fucking asshole though.” you snickered. Dirty looks weren't all that scary, he seemed nervous to approach you after Sans kept showing up at your work.

 

“Okay, well.. you know I'll beat up anyone who picks on you, girlie!” she said while slinging an arm around your shoulders and pulled you into a side hug, you both sparked a fit of giggles before she eventually let you go. A deep buzz was settling into your body now.

 

“I'm serious” she stated, leaning in to you with a flirtatious gaze, “even if it's bone boy I'll show him-”

 

“Jen, really, I can handle myself you know.” you stated, rolling your eyes playfully though you did mean what you said. You didn't know why everyone was treating you like you were so fragile.

 

“I'm sure you can, hun..” she cooed, taking another drink before dipping back into the fries which were almost gone.

You looked to her with a smirk, opening your mouth to retort when the door slammed open and made the both of you, if not the entire bar, jump. Some of the dogs yelped and a glass shattered somewhere on the other side of the room as you heard a booming voice from the door, “Nngyaaah! It's time to get lit!”

 

You both swerved in your stools as you saw a rather large monster barge her way into the bar, gathering high fives from everyone nearby as they hoot and hollered her name which was 'Undyne!' 'Oh hell yeah, hey Undyne!' 'Long time no see, Undyne!'. It was almost as if she was a celebrity. A muscular, tank top wearing, combat boot stomping, scarred flesh boasting, one eyed, red haired fish god. You started to understand all the fish puns Sans had thrown at you during the week.

She was sporting an eye patch and her one good eye was a striking predatory yellow as she looked over to the two of you and smirked confidently, showing her razor sharp row of teeth. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail but the sides were shaved in intricate patterns, you felt your skin go pale as she gazes through you to Grillby.

 

“Hey where's Sans, Grillby? He hasn't been answering his damn phone!” she announced while punching a fist into the palm of her hand.

 

A shy yellow monster skittered up beside her, much shorter than Undyne and seemingly had a polar opposite personality type. You vaguely remember Sans' mentioning names and if that tall woman was Undyne that meant this monster was Alphys. She wore a simple red cocktail dress, the glasses on the bridge of her nose quivered as she stammered, “U-undyne n-no need t-to.. to be s-so rowdy.”

 

The little monster squeaked loudly, clutching onto Undyne's side as a familiar skeleton burst through the door, “NONESENSE, UNDYNE! SANS IS ALWAYS AT GRILLBY'S OR HOME! EXCEPT FOR WHEN HE'S NOT! NYEH HEH!”

Your eyes brightened as you saw Papyrus standing there in the doorway, he was in jeans and rather nice black jacket with a grey hood. Suddenly it clicked, you remembered Sans talking about Alphys and Undyne to meet them here on Saturday night so this must be them. You tentatively raised your hand and waved at Papyrus who eyes you for a moment before laughing and rushed in to close the distance. Jenny reeled back in her seat in fear but you just stood and held out your arms as he picked you up in a bear hug, his bony arms were well padded by his thick jacket and he smelt of pasta.

 

“NEIGHBOR HUMAN! IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE YOU HAVE SEEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” you were filled with more laughter as he squeezed you tightly before placing you back on your feet, you stumbled a little but caught yourself on the bar. The door swung closed as Undyne lurched up next to Papyrus with the timid Alphys tucked under her arm protectively.

 

“Who'se the punk, Papyrus?” Undyne hissed, staring you down.

 

You shakily told her your name and gestured to Jenny, who looked like she would pass out, “This is my friend, Jenny. We work together.”

 

“Ah, that's right Sans told me about you guys-”

 

Undyne cringed as Papyrus flung into the conversation, “BUT WE HAVE NOT HEARD FROM HIM TODAY. WE FIGURED HE MUST BE AT THE PLACE HE SPENDS THE MOST AMOUNT OF TIME, HOME! BUT HE WASN'T THERE, SO WE ARE CHECKING THE SECOND-MOST PLACE HE IS AT.”

Papyrus' voice boomed through the room, but it didn't seem to bother the monsters as they went back to their own business and Grillby just watched the group curiously, his flames flicking with interest.

 

“O-oh, I saw him earlier today-” you flinched as Undyne and Papyrus leaned in expectantly. You stammered a bit as you looked between them, you really didn't feel like diving into another rendition of what happened so you responded simply, “B-but he left. I think he's still looking for Flowey-”

 

“F-for Flowey..?” Alphys asked, she was fidgeting with her clawed hands as she looked to you. She had been too nervous to meet your gaze until now.

 

“Yeah.. I guess he, uh.. Ran away.” you bit the inside of your cheek as the three looked to each other for a moment and Papyrus set his hands on his hips.

 

“WELL I SHALL GO FIND MY BROTHER AND FLOWEY! THEY DO NOT QUITE GET ALONG YOU SEE..” he strained while looking down to you before clearing his throat and turned back to the door in long strides, “SO IT'S BEST IF I AM THERE TO BRING HIM HOME!”

 

“Papyrus hold up-!” Undyne shouted, but he was already out the door and gone.

 

You stood there watching as Undyne turned back to look at Alphys and smiled, though her teeth made it seem menacing, “Do you think they'll need any help, babe?”

 

Being put right on the spot Alphys lightly shook as she played with her claws, stammering, “I-i.. I.. I don't th-think s-so...?”

Undyne then turned her attention to the two of you, her smirk growing as she extended her hand for you to take. She nearly crushes you in her grip but it's short lived as she does the same to Jenny, who lets out a squeak.

 

“Why don't we go sit at a booth and you can tell me how you know Sans?” she said while leading her girlfriend off to the side towards a row of booths, luckily one or two were empty and she took the one closest to the bar.

You looked to your friend who seemed to be overdosing on monster interactions, her face was pale and she looked shaken. You simply laugh and gently snap her out of it with a light touch on her arm, she look at you and lets out the breath she had been holding with a nervous giggle. You smile to her with reassurance before you both grab your drinks and slip into the booth, Jenny pinned against the wall across from Alphys and you sat in front of Undyne.

Before you could say anything Grillby was at the table and placed some fruity drink before Alphys, a beer in front of Undyne and then turned to address his other customers. Wow, everyone must come here often.

 

Undyne takes a swig before gazing down to you, “So how did you meet those two boneheads?”

 

You take a good hit from your glass before sighing softly, smiling as you spoke while the alcohol went to work, “They scared some creep away from me then made sure I got home okay. Turns out I live right across from Toriel and Frisk-”

 

“FUHUHU! No shit!?” she pounds a fist on the table, leaning over the wood, “You know the Queen and Frisk?”

 

“Y-yeah, Toriel is so sweet and Frisk is a really smart kid.” you replied, Jenny looked to you with wonder.

 

“You never told me that! I was in the same building as royalty just twenty minutes ago..?” she gasped.

 

“Oh.. y-yeah, sorry Jenny it's been pretty hectic” you apologized, Alphys pipping up.

 

“T-toriel isn't t-the Queen anymore.. Though she does keep appearances with Asgore to help Frisk negotiate and represent monster-kind.” It seems as if the lizard monster felt safer being tucked next to Undyne, she sat a bit straighter as she joined the conversation, “They've already s-submitted an appeal to the law b-banning magic use.”

 

You sighed in relief, though all this had just happened today.. How did Alphys know all this? She smiled sheepishly as she saw your expression, “I-i'm the royal scientist.. I help our case b-by using scientific data about our race.”

 

“You're a royal scientist?” Jenny gasped, she had sparkles in her eyes as she gazed at Alphys and Undyne pointed a finger towards her with a growl.

 

“Hey, back off this nerd is mine!” Alphys was turning a shade of pink as she trembled from all the attention, stammering something so quickly you couldn't really make it out.

 

Your group continues to chat and drink, you feel a haze flowing through your body but it makes you loose and confident as you chat with the monsters. Jenny is mostly listening but is soaking up every word. Alphys adds in snippets here and there as Undyne goes through story after story from Frisk refusing to fight her in the underground, full of hand gestures and voice acting, to the barrier getting broken and seeing the sun for the first time. You didn't know if the flushing you felt was from remembering what Flowey had said about your soul, why Sans had been so drawn to you, and to him actually calling you his “little sun” but you didn't seem to care all that much. You were happy.

You found yourself lost in the moment, soaking in the tone of the bar with all the activity and new friends you were quickly accumulating. One of the dogs stops by the table to strike up a conversation with Undyne, his name was Doggo and you recognized his cargo pants from the first time you saw him. They worked for Undyne in the underground, being sentries to the king on the lookout for fallen humans and you decided to check the time as they delved into their chat. It had been an hour and a half since you and Jenny had arrived and your messages remained empty. You felt a twinge pull at your soul and Alphys looked to you just as you felt it, your mind was clouded with alcohol so you didn't notice her looks of awe until she spoke up.

 

“Y-you have a y-yellow soul, right?” she beamed at you as you set your phone face down on the table and met her eyes shyly with a nod.

 

“I-it's very bright for a soul.. e-especially compared to the other soul types humans have.” she flushed.

 

“Y-you can.. see my soul?” you asked, Jenny's eyes went wide as she took a another drink.

 

Alphys nodded and grinned, “Y-yes. Monsters can see human souls though they are faded and fuzzy with being in the body. Sometimes you can see a clearer image of the soul.. b-but it just depends on the person.”

 

You leaned over the table as you remembered asking Frisk about souls but they knew so little, this was your chance to ask the _royal scientist_ , you couldn't hold back, “What does my soul type mean..?”

 

“I-it stands for Justice.. w-we speculate that it relates with things like atonement, accuracy a-and swift action.” she explained.

 

You were digesting her words as Jenny stole up the conversation, “O-oh! What kind is mine!?”

Undyne finished up her conversation with Doggo just as Alphys was wrapping up explaining Jenny's soul type, which happened to be an emerald green color and stood for Kindness. You had a feeling deep down that it was a perfect match for your friend, she was a social butterfly and loved speaking with everyone everywhere she went. She had always been there for you, her positivity was truly infectious and your musings at the apartment must have been true about her soul type playing a part in it. As they chatted you subconsciously checked your phone again, turning it gently to face you and clicked the lock button. The screen flashed a blank color into your face and you set it back down with a frown. Undyne noticed this and took a deep drink of her beer before speaking up.

 

“You all right there, punk?” her voice was grating but it seemed genuine.

You quickly looked up and smiled, but it was broken by the door opening to three humans stepping inside the bar. You heard the dogs softly growl but they were too slow to react as suddenly the men were right at your booth and you stared up into the familiar, deep wrinkled face of your coworker. He set his palm flat on the table, leaning a hip against the wood and blocked Undyne from the conversation he started to strike up with you.

 

“Oh would you look at that.. that fucking thing wasn't lying when it said you'd be here” he sneered.

 

“Who the fuck are you, asshole?!” Undyne snarled, Alphys grabbing at her arm to keep her down in the booth as the other men slid up on either side of Robert, eyeing the bar with snickers as the man pulled out a device from his pocket. It was a cellphone.

 

“What are you doing here?” you hissed, gripping onto your drink as your free hand started to ball into a fist. All you wanted was a relaxing time to unwind, but now this prick had to of course barge in to irritate you like usual. You wish he had the guts to do it at work where Allison could catch him in the act.

Rob hummed a mocking tune as he daintily scrolled through the phone before smirking and flipped the phone around to show you the image on it. Your heart fell through your gut, through the floor and towards the center of the Earth as you were met with an image on the screen. The picture was slightly unfocused, golden and soft as it depicted your sleeping face resting on top of Sans chest, his blue jacket contrasted beautifully against your hair and skin as it was draped over top of you. His skull was slightly cut off from the frame as he gazed up to the lens with a genuine smile on his porcelain face, he looked like he just woke from a well rested night's sleep.

You struck out for the phone but missed as he pulled it back away from you, tsking down at your feeble, drunken attempts, “I knew you were a dirty monster fucker. I was just curious as to how you'd try defending yourself on this before Gloria responds to my 'concerned' email about beastiality.” he chirped.

 

Jenny snapped loudly from beside you, “That's so fucked up, Robert!”

You could hear Alphys struggling to keep Undyne from leaving the booth, she was so pissed that she couldn't even speak but Alphys knew that if Undyne laid a finger on a human she'd be taken away.

 

“I know it is, Jen. Thanks for agreeing with me” he snickered, scrolling through the phone some more, “Though no solid evidence on this fucking thing-”

 

You swiped helplessly at the device, seething as tears began to well up in your eyes, “Where the fuck did you get that!?”

 

“A little flower gave it to me.” he chuckled, paying no mind as you shakily stood up from the booth with your glass gripped tightly in your hand.

 

“Give it to me.” you demanded, a growl weaving into your words as he looked at you with sheer amusement.

 

“Why should I-? What are you gonna do without your little guard dog protecting you?” he laughed in your face.

You were shaking so badly you could feel your drink spilling over the sides of the glass, your gaze like daggers stabbing into Robert's broad forehead but he seemed to only get a sick kick out of it. Why did everyone have to ruin your good time by being a giant prick? He only looked up from you as you felt a heat at your back, Grillby's familiar pine-like scent wafting over you as the man snarled. A deep, guttural noise that instead of scaring you fed into your own anger.

 The men that were with Robert lightly backed off but Robert remained still, “Try to touch me, you freaky fuck. I dare you-” he pointed the phone's camera lens to the scene in front of him, catching you and Grillby as it started to record, “smile while you're on camera as well. You'll all fucking go to that camp where you belong, separated from _actual_ men.”

 

“These _people_ are not freaks!” you seethed, your blood boiling, “The only freak I see in this room is an insecure old man who is desperate to take control of something in life so he tries to manipulate and destroy the lives of others! What is it any of your business what I do with someone I care about?”

 You lifted your chin as you pulled your shoulders back, he wasn't smiling anymore but didn't break eye contact as you growled, “Why is it any of your business if I have or have not been _bone zoned?!_ ”

 Jenny was in total awe, letting out an encouraging hoot and holler as you jabbed a finger towards Robert, your voice lowering, “It would probably be better than that lifeless wriggling you would title as 'sex', you soulless waste of flesh.”

 

“So you admit it? Tcht. Good thing I don't take my dog to work so you didn't try fucking him too.” he growled back into your voice, his breath smelt horrid.

 Something snapped within you. This was enough, the entire day was too overwhelming, you had no control of your argument with Sans, no control over your up and down emotions, no control over the sadistic flower monster that just wanted to fuck with you.. No control over this disgusting old man who was trying to get you fired. But you knew this had to stop. No more heckling, no more harassment, no more blackmail.. Whether it be from Robert, Flowey or even Sans.

You let out a snarl, baring your teeth as you shifted your entire weight into a swing towards Robert, smashing the nearly full glass of sticky sweet alcohol right onto the side of his face. The force from the blow caused the glass to fully shatter, bits and pieces of glass tumbling in the air. The phone in Robert's grasp was completely knocked free from his hand but Undyne swiftly caught it as it sailed over the table she then scrambled from the booth. Alphys grip was broken by the act and she sat in shock with Jenny.

 

Robert reeled backwards with a slew of profanities, “YOU FUCKING WHORE!”

 The glass had caught on nearly every inch of his face, the alcohol dug it's stinging tendrils inside of the cuts, the contents of your drink had splashed all over his head and onto the front of his shirt. Drips of blood mingled with the liquid as he cried out and tried to wipe away the booze, blood and small shards of glass from his skin. Robert continued to stumble back as you took another threatening step towards him, Undyne on one side and Grillby on the other. The glass had torn up your hand, you felt the stinging, but you couldn't focus on anything besides Robert writhing in his cohorts grasp who kept him standing as they back pedaled to the door.

 

He looked past his bloodied hands as he glared at you, raspily shouting, “You're fucking insane you god damn cunt! You won't fucking forget this because you'll be paying for it!”

 

Undyne shouted back at the man, “Smile for the camera you fucking bigot! You're going to be viral on the Undernet!” she had been pointing the camera lens of the phone towards him since right after she caught it.

The men stood in shock at how quickly the tables had turned on them, you folded your arms and smiled. You had already spoken your mind, you didn't need to holler and shout as you already showed him a piece of your mind through action. You had been the one to stand up to not only defend yourself but your friends, you weren't weak, you had a golden soul and you just served up a dish of Justice on a silver platter. With that thought in your mind you heard Grillby speak up, his voice reflected the massive smirk that was drawn across his face.

 

“..Get dunked on..” he crackled.

Robert roared in frustration as the men looked around, the whole bar had stood up except for Jenny and Alphys who physically could not. The same determined smiles and growls raising from all the patrons, you could feel all your hearts beating together as one and with one final snarky remark from Robert, “You'll all fucking regret this!” the men dashed out the door, practically tripping all over themselves.

 

The bar went quiet. You slowly turned to Grillby, downcast and murmured, “Sorry I broke your glass, Grillby.. I'll pay you back.”

 

He simply chuckled, deep and rolling as he set a warm hand on your shoulder. You looked up into his glasses where you could see his white, attune eyes studying you, “.. It's on the house.”

 

You stood agape before being swept up in a row of cheering and boisterous laughter, Undyne grabbed your sliced up hand and lifted it in the air. You hissed with the pain but then noticed everyone hollering, cheering for you, as she shouted your name, “CONGRATULATE THE NEW UNSUNG HERO OF THE OVERWORLD, SUN! THE WINNER AGAINST THE NOTORIOUS BIGOT, PUSSYFOOT!”

 

“S-sun..?” you murmured, staring out over the room of monsters who quickly adopted the new nick name with grandeur. Undyne released your hand and stopped the camera from recording before slapping you on the back proudly.

 

“That was bad ass! Who the fuck was that prick?” she asked as Grillby removed his hand and went back to work, the rest of the patrons slowly winding down back into their conversations with a new found energy and enthusiasm.

 

“T-the same guy Sans scared away..” you blinked as you turned to Undyne, she was so excited and pumped up you could honestly see her throwing a table out of the window.

 

“Ah from earlier? That's so weird. Well don't take him seriously, we got your back!” She shook your shoulder, making you feel dizzy with a stupid grin plastered over your face, “We know you got our backs, after all.”

 

“Yeah.. Yeah anytime.” you laughed, as you both turned to face the girls in the booth. Jenny was so flushed from all the excitement and alcohol as she grinned toothily at you while Alphys quickly drew your attention as she spoke up.

 

“T-they s-s-aid a f-flower ga-gave them th-the phone..?!”

You stared at her for a moment before the realization could sink through the haze of your buzz and you reached for the phone in Undyne's hand, she let it go as you took it and opened it up. It was on a blurry still image of the video it had just saved. You subconsciously swiped the image to the left and you found yourself staring at the golden picture of you and Sans seemingly captured in a different moment, a different world. You gazed at it fondly, a tear slipping down your cheek as you pressed the 'Home' button and came to a screen saver of a selfie of Sans and Papyrus making spaghetti in a messy kitchen. This was definitely Sans' phone.

 

“How'd they get Sans' phone...? This is Sans' phone!” you looked to the group, startled and anguished.

 

“F-flowey m-must ha-have gotten it. I-i-t's the on-only explanation!” the woman looked distressed but Undyne was too swept in the moment to notice.

 

“Ah shit Alphys he'll be fine- Hey, w-wait!” Undyne tried to grab you as you flew past her but she missed.

You flung the door open and ran into the night, going to the only place you knew for a fact that Flowey could be. The park. You hadn't heard the calls of your friends behind you, you only felt the air whip through your hair and the cement kick back against your pounding feet as you sailed through the streets while keeping your grip on Sans' phone, it dug lines into your bleeding palm but you didn't care. It wasn't until you started to hear an echo of your own foot steps getting louder and louder that you suddenly looked up to your side and saw Undyne running next to you, keeping her eyes ahead with a determined sneer across her lips. People standing in your way were quick to leap to the side, narrowly avoiding the two of you and while you got a couple of shouts from startled passerby's it didn't slow either of you down.

Your lungs felt like they were on fire as you led Undyne through the entrance to the park and sprinted for the treeline. Branches grabbed at the both of you but they were unable to keep the two of you back as you jumped, slid and dodged your way into the depths. You only stopped when Undyne set her hand on your shoulder, panting lightly in comparison to your heavy wheezing. As you both came to a halt you suddenly fell forward to set your hands above your knees and tried to catch your breath, feeling nauseous you dryly heave but to no avail.

Undyne pats your back carefully as she waits for you to gather yourself, murmuring, “I hear something up ahead. We should be careful, catch your breath and lets go punk! I left Alphys with your human friend so she better not be trying to pull moves on my girl.” she growled.

 

You let out a dry laugh and shook your head, trying to clear your mind as you slowly brought yourself back up. Looking down at your hand which was still clutching the phone and you frowned at the sight of blood stains that were now caked on the device, you lazily attempted to wipe it off but gave up and pocketed it instead. You looked to Undyne, confused as she held out another phone for you.

 

“You ran out of there so fast you forgot your damn phone, nerd.”

 

“Oh.. Thanks, Undyne..” you murmured, taking your phone back to place in your other pocket.

This all explained why Sans hadn't gotten back to you or the others. He was so swift and in control when you first saw him trying to catch Flowey it deeply unnerved you to know that Flowey somehow had gotten his phone and then just handed it over to a person like Robert. How did that even work? Robert and his group hated monsters, it seemed unlikely that would have even talked to one. You remembered what Toriel said about Flowey enjoying reactions from people.. that was enough of a reason for him to hand over the phone and then told them where to find you. He wanted you to know he somehow outsmarted the skeleton, he wanted you to get harassed, embarrassed.

Your teeth tightly clenched, you were starting to hate this monster. Why was Frisk so insistent on keeping him around when he's purposefully running around and putting people in danger? What was so important about a manipulative shit stain. Your bitter thoughts were broken as you felt a tremor pass through the ground, shaking the both of you to the bone before it quickly subsided.

 

“Ah fuck” Undyne spat, “That felt like Papyrus' special attack. We gotta get going.”

You yelped as she grabbed you and bolted off to the right, you had no choice but to just stumble after her. Running was painful as a stitch in your side pulled into your ribs, you made a note of how out of shape you were as you'd need to beef up to keep up with all of these monsters without dropping dead. The thought of dropping felt like a rational, and comfortable choice as you both finally came to a stop. You wheezed and clutched at your side as you stared ahead and saw a horror show.

The trees and grass in the area were dead, their leaves shriveled into grey crumbles across the ground and the grass turned to dust beneath your feet as you both pressed forward. In the center of this ring of death you found Flowey, large and cackling as held Sans wrapped and twisted in vines, he held the skeleton high up into the air as he cried out in pain from the pressure.

Just like in your nightmare Flowey's large face was contorted, dagger like teeth bearing down to Papyrus in a twisted grin. Although the skeleton was doing a rather amazing job of dodging both pellets and strews of vines that lashed outward for him. The lanky skeleton held a bone-like club in his hand as he cast out attack after attack, effectively deflecting and blocking pellets while simultaneously spearing sections of his vines with blue bones, forcing them to stop dead in their tracks, the field was littered with these skewered sections of knotted bramble and it seemed as if he had some endless supply of them. Whatever was pinned was just quickly replaced, though whenever this happened the circle of decayed plant life grew outward. Flowey was absorbing the life energy from the other plants in order to grow his magical capacity, his roots must be deep and vast within the Earth to drain so much life so quickly.

 

This wasn't happening. This must be a nightmare.. but you weren't waking up.


	17. Blood, Sweat and Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You didn't think dreams came true, unfortunately for you, your nightmare had.

You gasped as you saw Sans let out a choking wheeze, the vines not only were around his neck but also his arms, legs, torso and even had slid up into his jacket. He has lost his slippers, you only noticed as he kicked helplessly against the restraints that were tightly woven around his ankles. Flowey was literally crushing every inch of Sans' body slowly, cackling madly as he turned to taunted him.

 

“See how it feels to be  _ suffocated _ ?! Not very pleasant, huh?” Flowey mused, only pulling another string of gasping coughs from Sans. His eyes were closed tightly but you could see his bared fangs from clear across the field, sweat pouring down his face. 

You cried out for Sans, stumbling into the clearing which was littered by withered, broken trees. The arena was made purely by death, certain trees looked like burn victims while others were half shattered if not fully demolished. Undyne did a much better job of drawing attention as a loud war cry pierced through the darkness.

 

“NGYAAAAHHHH!” Undyne yawped while rushing into the fray, a blue energized spear had formed in her gasp as she chucked it at a length of vine cracking towards Papyrus. As the spear hit and pierced through the vines it turned them to dust, Undyne's spear dissipating in the air into bright blue speckles that danced back to the ground.

 

“U-UNDYNE?!” Papyrus reeled his head back to see Undyne rushing into the battle, a determined grin pulled at her face as she shouted while trying to close the distance as quickly as possible.

 

“You didn't even invite me, NGYAH! I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS PAPYRUS! BOSS BATTLE BUDS, REMEMBER!?”

 

He softened his expression, looking quite worried, “U-UNDYNE I-”

She snarled as rows of vines pulled up from the dusty soil, lashing out towards them but Undyne was just as fast. A light glinted beneath her eye patch as bright blue circles built up on the ground before tossing her hand up into the air, large spear-like spikes piercing the group of vines and sent them all to dust.

 

“We can talk later after we kill this thing!” she shouted, leaping into tandem with Papyrus as they dodged incoming pellets. You were unable to find your legs as you watched the scene with wide eyes.

 

“WE CAN'T KILL HIM UNDYNE! HE'S OUR FRIEND!” Papyrus pleaded.

 

“You can't be serious, Papyrus! He's trying to hit us and he has Sans!” Undyne grunted, summoning a pair of spears in her hands as she looked towards the captive skeleton. He was looking down at the party through a grimace, his eyes barely open and only noticeable by how black his sockets were.

 

“Noo, no. This is just a fun little.. game!” Flowey purred, summoning a row of pellets to hover above his head, “A little game of .. Who CaN sAve SaNS beFoRE hE tuRnS tO DUST!”

The flower's cackles were high pitched yet also sent deep vibrations through the air, tugging at your soul as you stood in fear. Sure you had felt great smashing Robert upside the head with a glass but this was entirely different, you weren't ready for a fight like this let alone going back up against Flowey for the second time. But you had no choice.

You stood for a moment, closing your eyes as you inhaled deeply and then slowly let it out. The sound of Undyne and Papyrus scurrying about fading away as a soft haze enveloped you, you had used quick forms of meditation to calm down before but this was.. different. It pulled at your soul as you felt it beat in tandem with your heart. 'I can do this', you told yourself, 'I  _ can _ do this.. ' You let out the breath as you opened your eyes, confidence radiating from your body as you lurched forward, gliding across the ground in a full on sprint towards the chaos. 

 

“NYGGHHH! Can't I just throw a spear up at him!?” Undyne snarled, forced into playing jump rope with Papyrus over the next wave of vines.

 

“N-NO! MY BROTHER DOESN'T HAVE VERY MUCH HOPE!” Papyrus' voice cracked, smacking away the pellets that shot for the two and deflected them with loud snapping noises.

 

“STILL!? God damnit..”

 

“s-sorry guys..” Sans croaked, his snarls turning into a struggling grin, “i  _ **petal** _ 'd my effort into  _ **photosynthesizing** _ jokes.” 

 

He could only chuckle for a few seconds before they were cut off into another gasping wheeze as Flowey curled his vines more over the skeleton's body, “God would you just fucking shut up!?” Flowey seethed.

 

“you'd better just d-dust me, pal.” Sans choked into another laughing fit, his eyes dripping tears as he stared up blankly at the sky.

 

“DON'T SAY THAT, SANS!” Papyrus shouted angrily, summoning a row of blue bones behind him that sat in the air in a fan-like pattern. He threw them at the incoming vines, pinning a few while the rest lodged into the ground at the base of Flowey's stem which caused him to grunt and hiss. Papyrus sincerely did not want to hurt Flowey, afraid of dusting the vines while Undyne paid no mind to the sentiment and destroyed anything thrown at her. 

Flowey squirmed, trying to dislodge the bones at the base of his stem but found himself stuck. With a snarl he then tried to knock any further incoming attacks away with his vines but Undyne quickly caught on and used her spears to defend Papyrus' attacks from being deflected. Tossing spear after spear to distract or destroy incoming bursts of tendrils.

 

“We'll get ya down, punk! Just hold on!” she screamed, clearly frustrated. 

 

“YES, NYEH HEH HEH! WE SHALL SAVE MY BROTHER AND YOU WILL BE UPROOTED AND THEN WE CAN ALL GO HOME!” Papyrus announced while flinging larger, longer bones at the base of Flowey's stem to disturb and loosen the soil.

 

“PAPYRUS WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT MONOLOGUING?!” Undyne shrieked.

You couldn't help the smile that pulled on your lips as you ran up behind them. You felt a brimming confidence building within your chest, growing stronger and stronger until your soul broke out and hung in front of your chest about a foot away. Pulsating and shedding flecks of light into your clothing as you ducked under a throng of twisting vines that shot for your friends, Undyne and Papyrus both gasping.

 

“SUN, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! STAY BACK!” Undyne ordered, Papyrus was making a strained groan as they both were helpless to come to your aid as vines and pellets kept them pinned down a few hundred yards from your right. 

 

“Ah how cute, the 'little sun' thinks it can fight with the big boys!” Flowey cackled, throwing out a vine nonchalantly right for your midsection as you bee-lined for the vines keeping Sans hostage. Sans had turned his attention down to the ground, his eyes wide and pitch black. The shout he attempted only came out as a gurgle which faded to a wheeze as Flowey strangled him.

 

“I  _ **CAN** _ FIGHT! AND I WILL FIGHT FOR MY FRIENDS!” you shouted, your soul releasing a burst of light that shot outwards right to the vines. As the bullet hit Flowey let out a startled hiss, his eyes going wide as the vine turned to dust and you ran right through it. You tried to hold your breath as you plunged through the ash but ended up coughing anyways as you ran.

You panted as Flowey tried to slap you away with more vines but you wasted each one with bursts from your soul, firing them accurately and with purpose you found it relatively easy to control once your heart was in the action but with each fire you felt more and more drained. You tried to be careful about how much you shot, being forced to instead weave through the twisting maze Flowey put up to slow you down.

 

“HOLY FUCK, HELL YEAH SUN WASTE THAT FUCK!” Undyne shrieked, you couldn't see the pair anymore but felt the ground tremor with each new bone that lodged itself beneath Flowey.

 

“The only thing wasted will be your stupid soul after I crush you!” Flowey roared, the ground trembling as a row of vines buckled from the soil to try to trip you but they only managed to make you stumble a few times before you began to just pick up your feet. This was really like running through an obstacle course now. A deadly obstacle course.

You could see the vines holding Sans better now as you got within a few hundred yards. Sans was held clear above your head, about thirty feet from the ground, but Flowey kept making you duck and serpentine through a maze of vines and you could feel the frustration building.

 

“Oh not that way! Oops, better go the other way! Oh no, too late!” Flowey cackled, thoroughly enjoying his little game.

 

“Knock it the fuck off, Flowey!” you snarled as a wall of vines fell before you to block the way, you decided to just shoot through this mess but the action weighed heavily on your aching body. He threw another wall at you which you were then forced to run around with a groan.

 

“Yes, just keep running around like a headless chicken!” the flower chortled.

You growled as your anger grew, you were getting closer but you felt the strain on your body as it was starting to fail you. Your movements were slowing down and your breathing was labored, it was this that spelled disaster, a vine caught your foot and sent you tumbling to the ground. You slid under the next mass of vines and rolled until the upright trunk of vines holding Sans slammed into your back, knocking the wind out of you and left you gasping like a fish on the ground.

You heard Flowey start to laugh wildly, Papyrus' and Undyne's voices much too far away to hear clearly as you slowly blinked to try to clear your vision and pull yourself up. Your arms were so shaky as you tried to get onto your knees but another vine lashed out and whipped into your side, slamming you back against the hard trunk and to the ground. You let out a low groan as you laid there, coughing and gasping with your soul hovering in front of you as you laid on your side.

 

You heard a murmur but couldn't make it out until Flowey burst into another row of laughter, “Oh you want to see? Sure thing!” 

The stem at your back wriggled as it moved, tilting Sans down just as he sent out another lash of his vines that cut through the air and hit your soul. Searing pain filled your mind as you screamed, it felt as if the length of your body was on fire and sliced open. You had hoped to never experience this pain again but fate had other plans for you.

As the pain ebbed into a dull ache you tried once again to pull yourself up, your soul a slightly dimmer gold. You were determined to not be beaten so quickly but Flowey once again swatted you like a fly. The vine caught in your side as you stood and sent you back to the ground, tumbling away from the trunk of vines which held Sans. You rolled and came to a stop on your back, hazily blinking up to see the skeleton snarling and struggling in his restraints. The blue fire in his eye had sparked as he struggled but his hands were pinned against his side, he couldn't bring them up to summon anything. There was a gross creaking as he fought, the flower only laughed harder seeming to forget about Undyne and Papyrus as he focused his face towards you two.

 

“This is too hilarious! We have been at this for what.. almost two hours now?” the flower chided, “and you gave up within twenty minutes before your brother showed up. You didn't even try to fight back until now!”

Tendrils crept up from the wilted, ashen ground and started to wrap around your arms, legs and stomach. You gasped and hurriedly pulled away from the ground, trying to get back on your feet but they lazily gripped you. The vines were just having fun with you, trying to trip you and pulled at your clothes as you fought them off the best you could.

 

“Stop this, Flowey! We don't need to keep fighting!” you shouted, clawing and kicking at the plant matter which only coated the undersides of your fingernails in a gooey green gel.

 

“Didn't you hear me,  _ Sun _ ?” he teased, “We aren't fighting.. just playing a little game is all!”

 

“What kind of game involves hurting your friends?! What kind of game involves sending thugs to try to harass me!? How did you even know where I was? How did you get Sans' phone!?” you were beyond irritated as you yanked yourself free from the tendrils only for them to chase after you like a cat tormenting a mouse, pulling at your legs as you tried to jump away from them.

 

“How do you know Robert!?” you demanded, kicking the advancing foliage.

 

“Oh just from the news.. and social media.. and occasionally at a meeting spot where I give them information about the King and Queen.” you shuddered, agape and slacked in your efforts to escape as you turned to look at Flowey who was smug in his expression.

 

“i fucking knew it..” Sans began to laugh dryly, “i fucking knew you were sneaking out at night, you're going to get frisk killed!” Sans kept up his thrashing, snapping a few vines from his legs as he did so which only drew another cackle from the flower before the vines shot back and grabbed a hold of him.

 

“Frisk loves you, Flowey! How could you do something like that to them?!” you hollered.

 

“Pft. Frisk doesn't love me.” Flowey chided, “Frisk loves Asriel and he's  _ dead _ .”

 

“That's not true! Frisk protects you because they care, if they didn't care why would they go back to the underground for you?”

 

“Hah! Ngh. In order to make themselves feel better about not being able to save Asriel.” he stated flatly, as if it were boring fact.

 

“No! Frisk drug me all around town looking for you! They were really worried!”

 

“Well, Frisk is really bad at finding things in plain sight. I had given Sans' phone to those humans right before lunch time, in broad daylight.” he chuckled.

 

“you fucking did  _ what _ ?” Sans wheezed, looking to Flowey who had an amused smirk plastered on his face.

 

“While you were busy jumping around after me like an idiot you dropped your phone! I figured the best way to get you off my trail was to hand it over to a familiar guy I knew, I figured you and the human would be at Grillby's like the texts said..” you heard Sans teeth snap together, you knew that was the only way Robert had to have gotten the phone but it still was such a surreal thing to hear it from the horses mouth. 

“Buut just to confirm I dropped in on your apartment! The door was open anyways so I didn't even have to knock.” he nearly sang the sentence.

 

“so that's where you were you sick fuck..” Sans choked out.

You swallowed heavily, so you really had seen something. You saw Flowey spying on you, how much did he see..? Did he hear? You felt sick but couldn't think on it much more as it was just getting you distracted. The vines tripped you up badly enough that you fell to the ground again onto your backside with a yelp.

 

“Don't worry. I didn't spy on you while you were in the shower..” Flowey shook with laughter while he got a great reaction from Sans. The skeleton let out a raspy cry of anger as he tried to writhe and get his hands free. But it was in vain. 

 

“You have an excellent singing voice, albeit a little emotional and dramatic” he chided. You on the other hand felt practically naked in front of this monster. There really was no word for the feeling as he spoke about you with details that proved he sincerely was there, the vines slowed their advances as Flowey seemed focused on bothering Sans for reactions now. You crawled backwards away from the vines, trying to put distance between his attacks so you could remain on your feet this time.

 

“Seeing a Human naked isn't really my thing..” he continued, watching as Sans seethed and nearly foamed from the mouth, “Though I like the way your soap smells like.. what is it called.. daisies?”

 

“ **i'll. fucking. end. you.** ” Sans spat, his words being strained in utter rage.

You couldn't find the words. For once in your life you couldn't find the words to reply to such a disgusting thing, you only could act, so you kicked and stomped at the vines that tried grabbing you with a snarl as you scrambled back up onto your feet.

 

“Would that have bothered you, Sans?” you heard Sans choke and wheeze, “Would that have  _ bothered _ you if maybe I did see her?” he chuckled, “Maybe I should have said otherwise, you're getting quite feisty as is though!”

 

“Shut your fucking mouth!” you screamed, spinning to look up at Flowey who was inspecting Sans like a scuffed up play thing. Turning and rotating him in his grasp, you only saw the way Sans was thrashing in the mass of tendrils, his legs trying to kick out but the vines only pulled at his ankles tauntingly.

 

He merely ignored you, “I did see that picture on your phone, Sans. Heh heh, I didn't think you one for .. fleshy types. Is that racist to say?”

 

“you fucking prick..” he panted while going still. He had given up the struggle, hanging limply and tangled in the mass of vines.

 

“Why are you doing this?! Why are you saying such terrible things?!” you felt tears prick at your eyes while you lined up your soul to Flowey who merely glanced down to you, summoning a ring of pellets and shot them for you. You snarled and reeled backwards, jumping side to side and ducking to avoid the bullets. You couldn't get a clear shot of Flowey while moving around like this, you bit your lip as you tried to run around his attack.

 

Flowey sighed, slightly annoyed, “You know the answer so stop asking me, it's just a fun little game.” he grinned, “A game between friends.. I mean look how close you two are.. so close yet couldn't keep it together during a simple disagreement.”

 

“ENOUGH! Stop trying to psychoanalyze us!” you yelled, skidding to a stop as a throng of vines shot up from the ground in front of you, “So what if we got into a fight? We can work through it. But people like you? People like you don't ever get to work through their issues, you are too busy wrapped up in the past and held back by the dead!”

 

Flowey burst into a fit of laughter, “ _ I'm _ hung up on the dead? Oh that's rich.” He gave Sans a good shaking, causing him to grunt in pain, “Better than having Daddy issues.. oh wait.. he didn't tell you about that either did he?”

You snarled, peppering the vines to dust with your souls ability before bursting through them. You couldn't keep indulging the Flower, you had to get it to stop. Now. You looked up to Sans, he was positioned just right and he met your gaze, he looked so tired, so pained and yet so incredibly angry. You'd have to get him free, you couldn't beat Flowey on your own like this.

 

Flowey took your silence as an agreement, “How sad to lose dear old dad.. and nobody remembers him but you..” he cooed, slipping a vine across Sans jaw which he just snapped at, trying to bite him.

You shuddered as he man handled Sans, it was beyond creepy. You didn't find it worth mentioning that Sans had brought up his dad to you, you refused to feed the flames and instead tried to shoot at the vines holding Sans. Your bullets were quickly deflected by white pellets as Flowey grinned down to you.

 

“Tsk tsk tsk.. that's rude of you, trying to end the game prematurely.” he sent a flurry of vines at you, the intensity startled you as you could only dodge a few before your soul was lashed with another direct hit. You let out a yell and stumbled, it felt like getting shocked as your muscles felt so incredibly sore after the hits. You managed to catch yourself from your tottering just in time to dodge the last whip of another vine.

He cackled but it was quickly cut off as a bone sailed and smacked him directly in the face, sending him reeling with a ravenous snarl cutting over his mouth. He let out a shout as he turned back to Undyne and Papyrus, the sounds of crashing attacks sending tremors over the ground and you struggled to keep your balance.

You could hear Flowey as you rushed towards Sans, “ _ Papyrus! I thought we were friends! _ ” your heart beat was pounding in your ears as you tried to get closer to the trunk that held Sans but instead were sent the ground with the loud crashing of an attack embedding into the Earth.

You were gritting your teeth so tightly from the tremors that your jaw started to ache, bracing yourself against the ground while waiting for the trembling to pass which they eventually did. You then picked yourself up off of the ground carefully, looking back up to Sans but he was watching the fight between Undyne and Papyrus. You could hear the three shouting at each other, the sounds of their attacks clashing together bounced off of the dead trees surrounding the arena. 

You ran up to the trunk of the pile of vines holding Sans and paused, how were you going to get him down? Sure you could dust the vines but you didn't think you could catch him. You sighed heavily and set your hands on the vines, feeling for grooves but suddenly they shuddered and Flowey was gazing over you with a snarl. You turned to see him and gasped, stepping away out of a reaction to the scare and narrowly missed being grabbed by more vines. You quickly ran backwards as they tried to snag you, giving up once you were well away from the trunk once more.

 

“leave her alone,  _ weed _ .” Sans snarled, a dark pressure trembling in the air which caused the flower to pull his focus from you and back onto the skeleton. He pulled his face away a tad and looked over Sans before a smirk cracked over his face.

 

“What are you going to do about it?” he said mockingly, “wriggle around?”

 

“i'm not going to play this game with you anymore.” he spat, grunting at the vines tightened around his bones.

 

“Oh really?” he mused, the grin only growing wider, “We hadn't even gotten to the fun part!” the vines started to move along Sans body, sending a chill through the skeleton as his eyes opened wide, his struggles turning into squirming as he let out a gasp.

 

“W-what are you doing to him!?” you shriek, facing the trunk of plant matter and focused. Your soul reacted accordingly and lined up the shot before sending a burst of light right for the trunk, a wave of vines lashed out in front of it and took the hit, crumbling to dust before being replaced by a new row that began whipping towards you and sent you into a frantic scurry to evade them.

 

The flower started to sway as he hummed,“Eenie.. Meenie..”

 

You jerked your head up to see the vines shoving up into Sans' jacket from his waist, wrists and neck. Sans was grimacing, a stuttering choke escaping from him at the sensation as the flower went on.

 

“Miney..” his vines were twisting, curling and weaving through Sans' rib cage beneath his clothes, you could only partially see the movement through Sans displaced jacket. You felt your breath catch in your throat as Sans jerked his head back and shouted.

 

“s-stop that y-you s-si-sick fuck!” Sans panted and writhed in his bonds, his magic was flickering as the pressure in the air started to faze out. You were mortified.

 

“Moe!” Flowey sung, a loud SNAP echoing in the field as Sans let out a wild scream, his body shuddering from the pain.

 

“How many more ribs can we go~?!” the flower chortled as he sung, you felt like you were going to throw up. 

You could hear Papyrus and Undyne rallying their attacks, yelling between each other loudly as Flowey suddenly shuddered, his main stem swaying as the sound of straining roots filled the air. You looked up at him, he was slightly displaced and leaning backwards with a snarl gracing his features as he quickly turned his attention back over to the duo. The vines that had been focused on you now were directed to the others as they snaked their way back over the ground and away from you. This was your chance and you had to act fast. You lined up your soul as you ran back towards the trunk and sneered as you effectively peppered the thing with bullet holes, the entire stack shuddering before giving way and crumbling to dust. 

With nothing to keep Sans in the air he quickly fell through the ash, grabbing at his chest with his left hand and threw his right hand out towards the ground. You craned your head up and back pedaled quickly as he was thrown to the ground, he suddenly vanished. You gasped and stared at the sky for a moment, only swirling ash remaining. You then quickly began looking around and spun in a circle, you couldn't see anything and the large clouds of dust made it hard to see what was happening. Coughing as you spun you soon came face to face with Undyne and Papyrus' fight, they had successfully lodged many bones at the base of Flowey's stem and were practically dancing between each one while avoiding pellets and vine lashes.

 

“Eugh, stop that!” Flowey hissed, his face becoming strained as they used leverage to start uprooting him from the ground. You noticed they were literally stomping on the ends of the bones each time they landed. A light blue glint in the sky caught your attention as you craned your neck up, squinting to try to see it clearer. It was Sans, he had teleported way above the field and was dropping quickly to the ground. The only thing that gave him away was the bright blue light encasing his hands and licked from his eye socket, Papyrus also caught the light and shouted with glee.

 

“OH I LOVE THIS ATTACK! IT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED!” he quickly changed places with Undyne who was using her spears to deflect and dust incoming attacks to the brother as he stood just beneath where Sans was falling. You couldn't tell if Sans was talking or not, he was too far up but he suddenly shot a hand up, rotating himself so he was falling feet first and Papyrus suddenly was launched up into the air at an incredible speed.

You stood with your jaw hanging open as Undyne quickly looked around, spotted you and made her way over as fast as she could. She hopped bone to bone, ducking and dodging whips of Flowey's vines just before a large bone sailed past her and lodged in the ground beneath Flowey, it shattered any other attacks in the way and stuck out from the ground quite far. Flowey snarled down towards it and wrapped his vines around the attack, grunting and struggling as he tried to pry it out of the ground but it was much too deep. 

Undyne wove herself through the mass of vines towards you, she was flush and sweating so badly but you had probably never seen anyone smile as wide as she was at that moment as she stood beside you, wrapping a sticky arm around your shoulders and turned to watch as both of the brothers plummeted to the ground, right for the extended bone. You could vaguely see two upside down blue souls in front of their chests, they were falling much too fast for it to be natural.

 

“I haven't seen this in years! Sun, don't take your eyes off of em!” Undyne panted, pulling you tightly into her side as her fists clenched with anticipation. You caught the smell of sushi as you were pressed into her heated, damp body but you did as she said and watched the scene.

 

“N-NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” The flower shrieked, lashing out with his vines to try to intercept the two but was too late. They landed with an almost supersonic BOOM on the end of the bone, sending a shock wave of cracks and fissures to cascade over it's length but the sheer force of the both of them sent Flowey clear up and out of the ground, his roots snapping and tangling as he was freed from the soil with a pained screech.

The bone quickly dissolved as the two brothers were see-sawed to the ground and sent tumbling into the mass of vines that were writhing, crumbling and wilting to ash without their master there to feed them any energy. You blinked wildly as your soul fluttered golden light before sinking into your chest, the light caught Undyne's attention.

 

“Ah hell yes! Looks like the fight is over! WE WON!” she announced.

 

“W-wha..?” Undyne suddenly grabbed your hand without a word and pulled you forward into a dash towards the two, screaming at the top of her lungs with enthusiasm. It was hard to cover the ground as it was trembling, groaning and creaking from all the soil displacement of the now dissipated vines and bones but you had no choice as you were dragged along by an amped Undyne.

Dust clung to your eyelashes as you two came up to the brothers, they had managed to pick themselves up off of the ground but only Papyrus was dusting himself off the best he could as he watched the sky with amazement. Your eyes followed his gaze which then trained on Flowey who was shrinking at an incredibly rate in the air, you could even hear him screaming as he tumbled through the sky before starting to fall back down. 

 

“E-EXCUSE ME NOW HUMAN, I MUST GET HIM BEFORE HE TRIES TO ESCAPE AGAIN! NYEHEHEH! ANOTHER SUCESSFUL BATTLE LED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” Papyrus then rushed forward into the clouds of dust, possibly to catch Flowey straight out of the air.

 

“Oh man that was fucking INSANE!” Undyne shouted, shaking your shoulder but she saw you not looking at her, you were looking at Sans.

 

As she followed your gaze she whistled and let go of you, “Wow. You going to be okay? We heard a loud snap during that fight..”

Sans was swaying on his feet, sweat had made his clothes damp and he was staring intently at you as his magic suddenly cut out. The familiar tingle in the air completely vanishing along with his glowing blue eye, it took a moment for his white pupils to emerge from the depths of his eye sockets and they were locked straight onto you. His clothing was torn and stained with something dark against the fabrics light blue dye at the right side of his chest but it was hard to study as he stumbled towards you.

 

“S-sans? Sans are you okay?” you murmured as he closed the space between you two, his posture was slouched, drunken. He didn't respond as he fell forward and wrapped his arms around you, enveloping you in a wet, musty hug that had all of his weight shoved behind it.

You were quickly knocked off balance and felt yourself falling, “S-sans?!” you squeaked, but he didn't respond. Instead you suddenly felt the world around you spinning, darkness encasing your vision as you both tumbled through the void.

You were falling, falling, through the pitch black darkness. The only clear sensation being a cold wetness that was pressing against your chest and the hard grip of Sans' fingers digging into your back. You didn't know if your eyes were open or closed as your stomach rolled and flipped with the sensation of G-forces until you hit the ground all too violently. The breath being knocked out of you and Sans let out a cry as he landed on top of you, the ground felt scratchy and this new place was so bright compared to the park.

 

“Oh my dear god!” was accompanied by screaming but all you could see was Sans face inches from yours. His fangs were still there, glistening with sweat under a painful grimace and his hot breath beat against your skin as he gazed down at you. His features were shadowed by the bright light around you which only made his white pupils stand out even more, you found yourself getting lost in them.

 

“S-sans..?” you whisper, but he gives a shudder his eyes roll back into his skull and disappear before he crumples into a heap on top of you. The sheer weight of the skeleton actually alarmed you, his sweaty clothes were soaking into your own and you couldn't really breathe but the feeling didn't last long as hands pulled him off of you and onto his back beside you. As you stared up at the ceiling, squinting and blinking a hazy black figure careened above you before coming into focus. It was .. Jenny?

 

“Holy fuck girlie are you okay!?” she cried, kneeling beside you and helped you into a seated position. You looked around dizzily, feeling your stomach roll and almost start dry heaving but suppress the urge.

You were in Toriel's apartment, smack dab in the middle of the living room. You were looking over to your side where Sans lay completely unconscious, in the new light you truly got to see how beaten up he was. His clothes were coated in dirt and dust, torn and ripped almost to ribbons in certain areas. Yellow clawed hands were suddenly all over him and you jerked your head up to see Alphys crouching on the other side of Sans, looking to you with tears in her eyes that fogged her glasses.

 

“W-what ha-happened?!” she squeaked, you couldn't respond, you only saw her mouth moving and you brought your attention back down to Sans. The dark stain on his chest was spreading, it looked black against the bright blue fabric and his face was pained with his eyes shut tightly, chest heaving up and down as more sweat poured over his face.

There was so much movement around you, noise, rushed talking, ectetera that it felt like you were under water. Jenny held onto you with her hands to steady you but you still couldn't speak, the loud noise of the room falling on your deaf ears as you watched Alphys pushed open Sans' drenched jacket and used her claws to remove the remaining segments of his soiled t-shirt to expose his rib cage. She pulled back with a jolt, he had cuts and fractures all along his ribs. A bright red river had splattered along the in and outside of his cavity, the cause of it being one of his ribs more towards the center by his sternum was snapped in half at an odd angle. The angle followed a deep, scarred fissure that ran from the length of his collarbone in a diagonal strike down to the left hand side.

 

Your vision started to spin as vertigo gripped you, your limbs gave out as your eyes closed and you fell back into Jenny who shrieked a slew of garbled words, you couldn't make them out. The world went completely black as you passed out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was violent!
> 
> The next part will be out soon, I'm still tweaking it a tad as there are a lot of characters to juggle. (I'm not a fan of cliff hangers)  
> Thanks for all the encouragement and patience, you guys are awesome. <3


	18. Bandages and Buddy Systems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're back in Toriel's apartment, everyone had been waiting for you to get back but they didn't expect you to just /drop in/ so suddenly.

Murmurs, hushed whispers pecked at your ears as consciousness slowly began to grace your mind. The darkness slowly ebbing over the next few minutes as the murmurs turn into ordinary, quiet voices who were chatting a bit off to the side of you. You felt soft cushions beneath you, a warm blanket draped over your form but you couldn't open your eyes just yet as you took things slow.

 

“O-okay, th-this is g-going to hurt..”

 

“i know.” you recognized Sans immediately, he sounded as if he was holding his breath.

 

“ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO HOLD MY HAND?” you knew that was Papyrus, yet even had his volume toned down a tad.

 

“nah, bro. that's for baby bones.”

 

“A-are you s-sure..?” timid nervousness, that must be Alphys.

 

“yeah. just do it.”

 

“Just think of the battle scar that's gonna add to the one you already got! Scars are wicked awesome!” Undyne was shushed by a soft voice.

 

“Shh, Undyne. Sun is still sleeping.” you could barely make out this voice, but knew it to be Toriel's.

 

“I-is she going to be okay..?” Jenny murmured off by your feet.

 

“Yes, dear. She merely passed out from shock.” Toriel said reassuringly, you could hear movement off beside you causing you to lightly stir but nobody noticed.

 

You heard a loud snapping, Alphys squeaking with a string of apologizes as Sans cried out, “ _**motherfucking cock gobbling tits!** _ "

 

You heard a round of giggles as Toriel scoffed and chided them all, the closest giggle was right above your head and sounded like Frisk. You slowly start to pull open your eyes, your lids fluttering lightly as you glanced around slowly. You were looking up at the ceiling, the back of the couch to your right and as you turned to the left you saw Sans lying on the coffee table just two feet from you. His soiled jacket was pressed open and the remains of his t-shirt hung loosely off of his shoulders, Alphys had cut the fabric open so she could get to his wounds. She was hunched over his chest, bandaging up his broken rib to the best of her ability with Papyrus and Undyne kneeling on either sides of her. The two were completely filthy, caked in dirt and ash with sweat drying over their bodies. 

Sans didn't look much better, dried.. blood? Had splattered over most of his chest and even onto his spine and pelvis, his bones were glistening in sweat and his hands and face were covered in a good layer of dirt and grime like Undyne and Papyrus. His eyes were bouncing around through half lidded sockets at the ceiling but he caught your movement and slowly turned his head to look at you.

 

“.. hey.” he murmured, starting to chuckle but then hissed. Scrunching up his face as Alphys murmured more apologies. The others then took notice of you, their faces lighting up.

 

“NYEH HEH! HUMAN SUN! YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE!” Papyrus threw his arms up above his head in a rally celebration.

 

“Yeah! Good thing you woke up, punk! Papyrus was totally crying like a baby when we got back and saw you!” Undyne smirked, side eyeing the skeleton who turned to her and set his hands on his hip bones. You felt Jenny give your shin a soft squeeze, it sent a smile to pull at your lips as you continued to watch.

 

“I WAS NOT! I JUST HAD SOMETHING IN MY EYE!”

 

“Pft, like what?” she teased.

 

“TEARS!” he conceded, looking like he was about to start bawling.

 

You began to laugh, a twinge of pain running through your muscles and you moaned while laughing strenuously, “Oh my god I'm so sore...” you hissed. 

 

“you and I both, babe.” Sans mused, keeping his eyes on you while you lifted your gaze to the weight shifting above your head. 

 

Frisk shifted on the arm of the couch and beamed down to you which you returned at first until you caught sight of Flowey, hunched and looking wilted as he glared down at you from over Frisk's shoulder. You let out a gasp and squirmed to sit up but your muscles were not having any of it, only giving you pain you decide to just keep laying there.

 

“W-why is he here?” you squeak, Frisk tilts their head and grins.

 

“i told you frisk is persuasive..” Sans said flatly, “they said that if by the end of next week if the weed isn't reformed then we can take him back to the underground.”

 

“He'll just get out again and finish the job” you spat, glaring back at the flower who rolled his eyes. His petals were dirtied, some even looked torn.

 

Undyne slammed her hand on the coffee table, earning a squeal from Alphys and a groan from Sans, “That's what I said!”

 

“NOW UNDYNE, WE DON'T KNOW THAT. AND WITH THE SPECIAL RULES SET UP BY THE KING AND QUEEN-”

 

“Papyrus, just call me Toriel.”

 

“SORRY! WITH THE SPECIAL RULES SET UP BY THE KING AND QUEEN TORIEL, FLOWEY CAN'T LEAVE THIS FLOOR!”

 

You heard a soft, throaty chuckle as Asgore stepped into the room carrying steaming mug, “True, Papyrus. But we should still stay observant, no one is allowed to go anywhere without a buddy.”

 

“YES! THE BUDDY SYSTEM!” Papyrus nodded, seeming confident of the plan.

 

“B-buddy system..?” you murmured, watching as he sat down in the love seat you had been in just a few days ago. 

 

“W-we figured th-that being alone i-is how you get targeted.” Alphys stammered, still working on Sans various wounds with the main one patched up.

 

“And apparently how he get's away all the time!” Undyne sneered, crossing her arms over her chest. She wasn't a fan of the 'plan' and honestly you weren't either. The buddy system? What was this Elementary school?

 

Jenny had been quiet for most of the discussion but now chimed in, “I can stay with you if you need me to!”

 

“W-what? I can't be in my own apartment alone..?” you huffed.

 

“i'll be watching you.” Sans stated, looking back up to the ceiling as you glanced at him, “end of discussion.”

 

“I'm flattered, really, but I can handle myself” you said warily.

 

Sans spoke quickly, cutting off Undyne as she was about to gush about your fighting ability, “i know you can.”

You turned to fully look at him, raising an eyebrow as you had to bite your tongue from saying anything in front of a room filled with every one of your friends, except for Chip that is.

 

“i'm sorry for not believing it at first..” a soft blue hue crept into his face as he glanced back to you, “i just think that beautiful things should be protected..” he cleared his throat as his words caused a rousing of various 'oooo's from Undyne, Papyrus and Jenny had also joined in on it.

 

“W-we can talk about it later.. but.. thank you, Sans.” you murmured, a slight flush creeping onto your cheeks as the 'oooo'ing only grew until Toriel shushed everyone down into giggles before she spoke up.

 

“Okay everyone, break time. I've made some butterscotch cinnamon pie and there is enough for everyone. Up, up!” it didn't take long for Undyne and Papyrus to barrel into the kitchen with a frolicking Frisk on their heels, Flowey was tucked into a flowery pink back pack and he didn't look too happy about being jostled around.  _''Good'_ you thought bitterly. Jenny gave your leg a light squeeze before she stood and followed Toriel into the kitchen where you heard them rabble around.

You softly chuckled as you looked back over to Alphys, Asgore still sitting in the love seat and sipped at his tea seemingly lost in thought.

 

“Is it bad, doc..?” you ask.

 

“Err.. w-well it's not good. B-but he should heal up. The bone will scar b-but scars  _are_ rather attractive.” she blushed, supposedly meaning Undyne.

 

“heh heh. it'll do my ugly mug some good then.” Sans joked.

 

“You are not ugly” you said seriously, staring back at Sans, “you've got to be  _ribbing_ me right now.”

 

His eyes seemed to sparkle as a fit of strained chuckles came from you both, Alphys sighed and stammered, “H-hold still.. I'm not quite done..”

 

“sorry alph” he then slowly pulled his arm out from his side, palm up and reached across the space between you, “i think i just need a  _hand_ .”

 

You glanced down at his shaking bones, they were lightly rattling as his body trembled. You snaked your hand out from under the blanket, reaching across the empty space and ran your fingers up his carpals before lacing your fingers with his. Your hands were just as filthy as his but you didn't mind, feeling his digits slowly curl up and rest between your knuckles his quivering subsided and when you looked back up it was like he was seeing stars.

 

***

 

You and Sans kept a hold of each other, even when the group came back in and Papyrus made some comment about step thirty seven in his dating guide book but Sans just made an  _off hand_ comment and sent the room into either laughs or sighs. You were forcefully separated some time afterwards as Toriel insisted you both eat and not either of you could deny her. Papyrus helped Sans sit up and Jenny helped you, it was wrong how sore your body was but she gave you a painkiller to help as you ate your piece of pie. The food felt, and tasted, wonderful as always and with the help of some tea you were able to sit and stand on your own just like Sans but he had preferred to keep sitting on the table.

Eventually it was time for everyone to turn in for the night, Alphys gave Sans some stern instructions, which he shrugged at but did seem to appreciate, before her and Undyne left the apartment with Papyrus, who was extremely unwilling at first but finally caved in as Undyne suggested an anime sleep over. He practically skipped out the door and Jenny made sure you would be fine before following them out the door, catching up to them in the hall to chat as they descended the stairwell.

Toriel and Asgore had more to discuss and instructed Frisk to sleep out in the living room so they could watch over them, Frisk didn't seem to mind as they set out a sleeping bag on the couch and watched TV with Flowey tucked in their arms with him still in the back pack. Flowey hadn't said a word the entire night and you were thankful for it, you wanted to do to him with what you did to your old house plant. 

As both you and Sans stood at the door, his bloodied jacket still hung on him but he held the front of it closed with one hand while the other was at the middle of your back, you said goodnight to Toriel and Asgore who murmured with you more seriously about what had happened. Sans didn't like reiterating the “eenie meenie moe” scenario and to be honest you didn't like listening but it was necessary, it showed how truly removed Flowey was. You started to wonder if you should have stopped Sans from getting rid of the flower, but you felt deep down that was the wrong way to feel, killing wasn't okay unless there were no options left and Frisk seemed to have a plan. You hoped they had a plan.

It wasn't long after your discussion that you found yourself back in your own apartment, you insisted that Sans shower first and gave him some clothes to wear. You were a fan of men's sweat pants and over sized t-shirts to sleep in so you had plenty to offer, he still accepted hesitantly but knew he had no option. You had to straightened up your room as he cleaned up and you sat on your bed with Sans phone in your hands and a damp rag. You were trying to get the last few streaks of blood from the device as Sans peeked his head in the doorway, his jacket and torn shirt draped over his arm as he gave the wall a light knocking that drew your attention back over to him.

 

“That was quick” you stated, smiling as he stepped into the room. You found it funny that you had similar track pants that he wore but the dark band shirt he was wearing looked better on him than you, you didn't mind. He set the damaged clothing on the desk by the door where you had already set out some new clothes to change into after your shower. You couldn't help but notice the scratches that were dug into his bones in twisting angles all along his arms, especially at the wrists.

 

“heh. yeah. it's all yours.. is that my phone?” he asked, stepping up to you lightly before easing himself onto the sheets.

 

“Yeeah.. sorry, I cut my hand and-” you were cut off as he leaned over and studied your hands, “i-it's really no big deal” you set down the rag and turned your hand over to show him the light scrapes covering your skin. You had tried to wipe away the dirt with the rag but it wasn't a very thoroughly cleaning as streaks of dried blood still remained here and there.

 

“..why is your hand cut up?” he raised a brow, gently taking your hand with his as he inspected it.

 

“I..uh..” you let out a breath in a half laugh as you shook your head, “Robert came into the bar with your phone and I.. smashed my drink into the side of his head.”

 

Sans slowly brought his eyes up to you, a half smirk tugging at his mouth as he narrowed his eyes, “you did what?”

 

“He was being a giant dick bag and said some nasty things about how being with a monster is like beastiality and he made some snide comment about me wanting to fuck his dog if I had fucked you so I took my drink and..” you made a motion with your free hand, “smashed my drink into his face.”

 

He sat there for a moment before a string of snorts and laughter erupted from him, keeping his eyes locked onto you, “wait.  _what happened?_ ”

_  
_ You felt flush as you sighed, a fit of laughter bubbling up from your chest as you remember the incident. It made you feel incredibly bad ass, “I'm not even kidding. That's what happened. He tried using your phone to record us picking a fight with him but the tables turned and Undyne made sure it was all on film.. she said something about the undernet?”

 

“on  _my_ phone?” he was trying to contain his laughter, you could tell it pained him to laugh.

 

“Yeah.. and I guess on the .. Undernet? If anyone else had recorded it at the bar.. I'm not sure. Grillby even was all like” you had a stern look on your face, trying to emulate his deep voice, “get dunked on...”

 

“ppppppppfffft,  _whhaat?!_ ” he couldn't hold it in anymore, whimpering through his fit of laughter he continued to hold onto your hand before speaking up teary eyed, “he seriously used my catch phrase?”

 

“T-that's yours?!” you stammer.

 

“yeah. i used to say it all the time in the underground whenever i managed to pull off a prank.” 

 

“.. Is it because it has to do with ketchup?” you ask, giggling.

 

He pauses, thinking for a minute and you stare at him agape, “Oh come on, we had this conversation! About how there are two types of people..?” he still looked lost, “People who dip and people who pour their ketchup on fries?”

 

Realization hit him and he started to laugh again, though it was cut short from the pain, “ah. well. let's just go with that from now on.”

 

You nod as you laugh, you both wince from the soreness but you sigh and murmur, “All right I'll go take a shower.” 

 

You try to pull your hand back but he doesn't release it, looking back down to it he dipped his head down and pressed his cold teeth to the wounds, holding the position in a pseudo kiss before slowly sitting back up and letting go of you, “make sure you wrap that, don't want it getting infected.”

 

You blinked wildly at him, your hand frozen in it's position before you're pulled back to reality by him chuckling at you. You quickly gather yourself and stand up, “I-i'm pretty sure the booze disinfected it when it happened” you stammer as you pull a pile of clothes to your chest from the desk.

 

“uh huh” you hear him snicker as you rush out of the room and into the bathroom, closing the door behind you and you start up the shower before glancing in the mirror. You hardly even recognize yourself. Your clothing was completely destroyed, Sans' blood had even seeped into your shirt from when you teleported and besides the nicks and scrapes all over your skin you were coated in dirt and ash. Not to mention your hair looked like a rats nest, how Sans had ever been serious when he made that comment at Toriel's about you being pretty was beyond you.. yet the smile it gave you as you got cleaned up didn't leave your face, even as you got back into the room changed and refreshed.

You were met with the muffled sounds of yelling and saw him leaning back against the headboard, his phone in his hand while laughing as he watched the video in sheer amazement. You carefully stepped over and sat down on the edge of the bed next to him, peering over at the video just as Grillby said '… get dunked on... '. You were busy watching the video as Undyne grabbed your hand and the bar went into a loud cheer but Sans was looking over at you.

 

“wish i could have been there.” he hummed.

 

“It was pretty cool I guess..” you smiled, glancing back up to him as he slowly relaxed his smile into a frown before looking back at the phone.

 

“i should have been there.”

 

“Listen-” you tried to start but he cut you off.

 

“no. i lost my head earlier today.”

 

“You're telling me..” you huffed, still sore from your argument.

 

He sighed, leaning his head back against the wooden headboard as he clicked out of the video, “i told you two to stay here for a reason.”

 

“I know. I already said sorry for that, Sans.” you narrowed your eyes and turned your gaze to the sheets, pulling your legs up under you to sit next to him.

 

There was an odd silence but you didn't want to break it, angrily chewing at your lip as he watched you before lightly setting his phone down on his lap, “though if you weren't there i would have dusted him.”

 

“I know that..” you mutter, “maybe I shouldn't have stopped you.”

 

“nah. you're right.. you can't kill just because you can..” his voice softened, “just because you can doesn't mean you have to.”

 

“Then why did you get so mad at me?” you couldn't look at him, afraid that you would lose your nerve to be blunt if you did.

 

“i hoped it would keep you from coming back.” he shrugged.

 

“You pushed me away on purpose?” you folded your arms, gripping into your biceps with your fingers rather tightly, “Well it didn't work because I still came back anyways.”

 

“yeah.. I figured you would.. after what you said.”

 

“You didn't even seem to care, you just ran away.” you spat, gaining the confidence to glance over towards him and saw him staring up at the ceiling.

 

“.. i didn't know what to say.”

 

“You can't just .. run away when someone expresses how they feel.” you said with exasperation, watching him close his eyes.

 

“i'm not very good with emotions babe.”

 

You reached down and shoved his leg just above his knee, causing him to hiss from being jostled but you just glared at him, “Well now's the time to start. What were those things that made you so upset? A little kid and then.. some.. strange monster?”

 

He flicked his eyes over to you, keeping his head craned back as he spoke, “that wasn't just any kid.”

 

“Then what was it?” you drew, keeping the hand on his leg as he seemed to be thinking. After a few minutes you shook his leg again, “Sans.”

 

He hissed lightly before starting to laugh, “i told you. I'm not good with emotions.. or explaining things.”

 

“Well if you want to fix this you have to talk to me.” you tried to keep your tone calm but it was wavering.

 

“i upset you that bad, huh?” he tilted his head down and faced towards you, taking your silence as a 'yes' he then sighed, “it'll be better if i just show you..”

 

You watched him bring a hand up to his shirt, slipping his bony fingers up under the fabric carefully and drew it up slowly. You felt yourself feeling flush as you looked down at the base of his spine and pelvic bones before his ribs started to peak through, he was slow going around his damaged ribs but as he finished drawing the shirt up to his collarbone. Your flush was quickly paled. The sight you were met with was the various nicks and scrapes, bandaged fractures and the main cast of his broken rib but what really caught your attention was a deep, scarred fissure that ran from his right shoulder clear across his rib cage in a diagonal slash to the left side. You had seen it before, but it was brief. You found your hand lifting from his leg and reached out tentatively to the scar, your fingertips lightly touching at his sternum and he shivered from the touch.

 

“S-sorry.. does it hurt?” you murmur, glancing up into his eyes.

 

“nah” he said flatly and you turned your gaze back to the crumpled texture of the scar, carefully running your fingertips over the bone. He was slightly warmer than usual, probably from the shower he had taken.

 

“What happened...? A kid did this?”

 

“chara” he nearly whispered, watching as your hand ran down along the slash intimately.

 

“That person Flowey was talking about..? Yeah no wonder they got along.. did you ..did..” you couldn't really finish that sentence, blinking away a haze of tears.

 

“kill them..? many times” he didn't seem to mind as you inspected him but a blue hue was pulling up into his cheeks, “they kept coming back though.”

 

“Coming back? That's impossible.” you stated, pulling your hand away to look back up to him. He pulled the fabric back down over his chest as he snorted.

 

“those who have a very strong determined soul could reset time in the underground. we had studied this anomaly for a long time but didn't truly understand it until it came through our own time line.”

 

“Wait. Time line? Like quantum physics?” you were lost.

 

Sans lightly chuckled before diving into his explanation, he had lied, he was good at explaining things. You sat and listened to him for what felt like hours as he started from the beginning, talking about working with his dad and a team of other scientists to maintain the Core which was a huge machine that converted geothermal energy into magical energy to power the underground. They worked under contract by King Asgore who had taken a fallen human under his wing and raised the child with their son, Asriel. It didn't take long for the human to fall ill and die, Asriel had absorbed the humans soul and went through the barrier with the child's body to try to return the child back home. But the humans had mistaken Asriel for killing Chara, he was attacked, but did not return the violence and came back home instead. He succumbed to his wounds and died in the throne room, his dust spreading across the grass. His parent's became distraught and King Asgore ordered for the souls of any humans that fell into the underground, commissioning the team to use the souls to break the barrier.

Led by his father they took care of all of the souls King Asgore brought them, extracting determination and tried to use it to break the barrier but everything they tried failed. With each new soul they would get closer and closer to destroying the barrier but they didn't have enough power.. They would need seven souls in order to destroy it and as time went on they had only gathered six.

Asgore seemed to give up, his wife had run away from his violent acts of murder and didn't return. He allowed the science team to work on other methods to break the barrier, nothing they did worked either. That's when his father, WD Gaster, thought about quantum mechanics and another dimension of when the monsters were not trapped behind the barrier.

He didn't remain long on his father, it seemed to pain him at the memories when you tried to pry about him. He did satiate your curiosity by saying he was a rather intimidating monster, tall like papyrus and had a very stern outward appearance but he was brilliant. Sans went on to explain how he was experimenting with a sort of time machine, they used the device to track time lines and found an anomaly that was messing up and completely destroying alternate realities.

Sans then paused, only continuing forward by saying there was an accident and his father was killed in it. That was the first time Sans experienced a time line shift, it was like waking up in your bed but your dad had never existed. Nobody remembered him but the two brothers, Papyrus never liked to talk about it and honestly Sans grew frustrated and attempted to make his own time machine at home.. but it never worked. No matter what he tried he couldn't get it to work and eventually he gave up, he gave up on the lab and left Alphys alone to take over. This was when Alphys accidentally made Flowey, the confession startled you.

You couldn't believe Alphys would make something so evil on purpose but he shushed you down with a chuckle, he insisted she didn't even know until he was just gone one day. She had used a flower that Asriel's dust had fallen onto, resurrecting the prince but he had no soul. Flowey then ran rampant through the underground and that's when Sans started experiencing a slew of resets. No one else kept their memories but him, he felt it was because of something that happened to him as a child but he wouldn't go into it further than that. He befriended the flower, he fought the flower, he was killed by the flower and he killed Flowey in return until suddenly he stopped coming around.

He settled for joining his brother in being a sentry and that's when more resets came. He explained how Frisk fell into the underground and any time they had died the day would be reset backwards a few hours or even mere minutes. The child would make their way through the underground, not harming a single creature and broke the barrier for them to get to the surface. But surface life was short, only a few days before the time line reset again to the very beginning of Frisk's journey in the underground. A few times they did this, go through without killing and then freeing them all only to reset it again. It was as if they were trying to find something during their runs, hanging around waterfall and hotland for longer periods of time.

Sans sounded slightly angry as he spoke, you weren't sure how long he had been talking for but you slowly turned and scooted back to sit right next to him. He glanced over and smirked, draping his arm over your shoulders and pulled you against him. You squeaked, flushing, but he soon began his story and you fell silent. Watching him toss his other hand as he spoke.

Sans went on to say that one of the times Frisk came through they started killing, a few monsters here and there before leaving the underground. More and more monsters were killed each time, even Papyrus and Undyne, but the last attempt as they came through nobody was left. Monsters were running, hiding for their lives as the child came through area after area, mowing down every single monster that had remained. This was the anomaly they had been watching. Sans tried to explain how he had attempted to stop them, the demon that had possessed Frisk. He had defeated the thing multiple times but it would always come back, smiling bigger and bigger with each attempt. For days they struggled until finally he was struck across the chest.

He smirked at the memory, but you were mortified, unable to speak before he finally continued with his tale. He had lumbered behind a pillar, left to bleed out but before he could feel his body turning to dust another reset happened. He was suddenly fighting the child all over again, it was a terrifying experience and even though he knew fully well he couldn't win he kept holding on, he was Determined to hold on. Eventually the child had not reset to fight him, to defeat him, for umpteenth time as he sat behind the pillar wounded and slipping away.

That when a full reset pulled the time line to him waking up in his bed in Snowdin, just like any other time. Papyrus would rally him out of bed like usual and he's go to his sentry station, but this time as he met Frisk the child burst into tears and clung to him as if for dear life. He went on to describe the way they signed to him over and over, 'I managed to escape. chara tried to kill me. no more resets. no more resets. I promise.' and then Frisk went through the underground, sparing and befriending each and every monster and broke the barrier. The child had only hung around waterfall for a short while before pushing onward, Sans found it weird but didn't question the child on it. He didn't expect Frisk to keep their word but they did, the time line was not reset as they moved on and acclimated to the Overworld.

He wrapped up his story, you leaning into his side up against the head board of the bed and his arm draped over your shoulders as he spoke about being drafted in to protect Frisk from the human world, Papyrus and Undyne also worked as body guards to the ambassador but they only came along for much larger meetings while Sans used his teleportation to get Toriel and Frisk in and out quickly, safely. Frisk was rather persuasive and with the help of Asgore and Toriel they had made a lot of headway politically but now things were obviously getting complicated and gritty as monster rights were on the chopping block. Alphys was helping by providing all the data she had on monsters, it was helping human/monster relations as they started understanding physiology and magic. Though there were those who were still scared, prejudiced.

 

With his story wrapped up you just lay there lightly against him trying to digest all of this information. It was hard to process at first but you knew that you would get the hang of it, you remembered what Asgore had said about Sans' not liking to talk about anything with anyone.. but he had nearly spilled his life story to you. You thanked him for it, he merely smiled and held you tighter into his side. It must have been early in the morning by the time your conversation ended as you could hear Chip running around in the living room, chittering.

 

“heh.. what the hell..?” Sans asked, leaning over you slightly to peer at the hallway as Chip burst into the doorway, his eyes wide and tail puffed up. He yowled before darting back into the living room.

 

“He always does this at like four in the morning..” you yawned.

 

“ah past your bed time” he chuckled, lifting his fingers as he pointed to the light switch and quickly motioning his fingertips downward. The light snapped off and you were left in darkness, Sans' raspy breathing caressing across the side of your neck as he turned to face you.

 

“Just promise me one thing..” you murmured, blinking as you tried to get accustomed to the darkness though Sans' bright eyes were easy to find.

 

“yea-?” he muttered, looking over your face.

 

“Don't walk away from me like that again.”

 

You heard him softly chuckle, his fingertips slowly running along your arm and shoulder like he had done this morning, “never again. you're stuck with me anyways now, _buddy_.”

 

Your breathing hitched as he pulled you tighter to him, smirking down at you as you twisted on your side to face him. Your side dug against the pillows beneath you, feeling flustered and carefully set your hand on his collarbone. Luckily his damaged side was opposite of you.

 

“Is that even going to work? Ugh, I can't believe Frisk wants him still around..” you murmur.

 

You felt him lightly shrug, his fingers slipping up to swipe your damp hair from your face, “well.. seems to be working in other ways.”

 

You scrunched your brow, confused as he went on, “so i noticed you _didn't_ say anything denying we had boned.”

 

Oh crap, you hadn't, and even in your confrontation with Robert you had even alluded to the fact you had been intimate. Your body went tense as you flushed and ran through your head to come up with something, with anything, to say.

 

“i just found that.. interesting” he goaded with a smirk, watching you squirm.

 

“Oh my god, Sans-” he just chuckled as you fought for words, “Today has been long, exhausting and dramatic as all hell and you immediately think of how I told Robert off?”

 

“heh. what can i say..? normally when i'm at grillby's 'bone zone' isn't in anyone's _vodkabulary_.”

 

You sighed as he was wracked in laughter, it was cut short as he hissed from his rib but still managed to laugh it off.

 

“..Go to sleep, numb skull.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for this bomb!   
> Should be more to come during the weekend.
> 
> I smell community service for wrecking the park, do you?  
> That should help Flowey learn his lesson, right? Right? No? Yeah, I have my doubts too.


	19. Determination is Red, Skeletons are Blue (R)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take note of all the lovely tag changes. We went from Mature to Explicit!  
> This is a NSFW scene and is skip-able if you so choose. 
> 
> A much longer chapter will be released later tomorrow when I can finish editing it.  
> Also shout out to NineKat (both on this website and on Tumblr) who helped critique this chapter and gave me some great tools to use for my writing in the future, go check out her work if you like NSFW content it's glorious. (But only if you're eighteen or above, stay legal guys!~)

Soft rays of light bask over your room as the morning turns to a Sunday afternoon, the light hadn't woken you as your body needed the rest but now it was ready to shed the heavy sheet of sleep. Your brain kept sending prodding signals at your body to wake up, the light bothering your eyes, but you just grunted and buried your face deeper into the form beside you. The surface was weird but you managed to nestle your eyes away into the uneven hard surface before it gave a shudder and slowly began to move.

 

“Mmnnrr” you nearly growled, digging your fingers into the fabric and gripped to it tightly. Your brain may have wanted to get up but your limbs were still heavy, still so comfortable.

Chuckles reverberated through the hard surface, tickling your skin as you just moaned and curled tighter to it. You were met with silence at first before a lithe touch across your arm started to pull you from your haze, it traveled upwards and slipped across your neck. The movement was making it difficult to try to fall back asleep as your brain was now sparking with the stimulation. The caress paused before lifting from your neck and gently swiped across your hair, tucking the locks behind your ear and subjecting you to a brighter light that beat on your eyelids.

You groaned and slowly began to flick your eyes open, squinting as your vision focused on what was in front of your face. It was your favorite band t-shirt but that was weird, you couldn't be staring at the logo if you were wearing it. The fabric also smelt different, a light musk filling your senses as you inhaled from being roused.

“hey..” a deep voice breathed down across your exposed skin. Your eyelashes fluttered as you began tilting your head up slowly to be met with Sans' white pupils locked onto you. The deep lines under his eyes seemed lighter, his grin crisp in the soft glow of the afternoon that was blanketing the room.

“Sans..?” you asked, the haze from your mind starting to dissipate as you remembered yesterday.

 

“yes..?” he purred, seeming thoroughly amused.

 

“.. How do skeleton's bleed?” you murmured, rotating your hips as you stretched your legs and yawned.

 

He snorted with a laugh, “where'd that come from?”

You could feel his eyes on you as you pushed out your arms and arched your back in the stretch. You had been so tired that you hadn't moved an inch all night and felt incredibly stiff and sore, “I was jus' thinking..”

You felt him twitch as your hips and back gave a good cracking. You sighed as you let your body relax into the sheets once more, tilting your head to the side to peer up at him with your arms on either side of you. His gaze was flicking all over your form before finally making contact with your eyes, a slight blue hue drawing into his face before he chuckled and ran his phalanges over your scalp and through your hair.

 

“well it's not technically blood.”

 

You lazily watched him, waiting for a response. He snickered and rolled more onto his side as he ran his fingers back through your hair once more, trailing his fingertips over your temples and around to the side of your neck which you gave a slight purr to.

 

“it's determination.” he murmured, “one of the experiments we had come up with to break the barrier. it didn't work but left me.. 'gifted' as the old man liked to say.”

 

“What does it do..?” you sighed, closing your eyes under his touch as he repeated the sweeping motion through your hair and slipped his hands down your neck and collarbone.

 

“eh. higher capacity for magic use mainly.”

 

“Ah.. I get why it's red.. Frisk's soul is determination and it's red too, huh?” you yawned once more, shivering as you felt Sans shifting while he ran his fingers down between your breasts and lightly tapped at your sternum over your soul which gave out a soft pulse of light in reaction.

 

“heh heh. yeah. red isn't really my style though.”

 

“I noticed you're very fashionable in blue” you say with a grin, he is leaning more over you now as he keeps his fingers pressed into your chest. You can feel your soul fluttering beneath his touch, inches below the surface.

He hums lightly before drawing his hand back up, brushing along your neck and to your chin which he hooks with a finger as he lifts your head up to him poised just out of reach of his brimming white teeth. The haze of your morning now was being dashed away as you realized your position, you could feel his breath on you as his eyes locked onto yours. In the light you could even see the slight outline of his fangs, raised and dented over his otherwise uniform, neutral smile.

It sent a shiver down your spine, excitement pulsing from your soul as you tentatively tilt your head upwards and brush your soft lips against his teeth. His eyes shiver a bit, fangs growing more prominent as you then gently press your lips to his teeth in a soft kiss. You hold this for a moment before pulling back, feeling flush as he only follows you down into the sheets. His hand leaves your face and slips itself beneath the pillow you're resting on, his elbow digging into the mattress beside you as he leans over top of you and dips his jaws down into the crook of your neck. You gasp at the feeling of his hot breath beating against your sensitive skin, slightly squirming as his scent wafts over you.

 

“S-sans..? What're you doing..?” you murmur, a shiver coursing up your spine.

 

“nothing..” he whispers, his breath rolling over your skin as his jaws start to open up.

 

“F-feels like something-” you stutter, your body tense as you try to glance over to his face. Only catching his eyes looking up to you with his jaws hanging open. The light playing well off of his sharp canines before he dipped down and skipped his fangs along your neck.

You gasp, bringing your hands up to grip at his arms. Your fingers wrapped around his scratched up humerus' as he set his teeth onto your flesh firmly before slowly dragging them across your soft skin down to your shoulders. Your breath catches in your throat as he gives the base of your neck a sharp nip, a light growl purring from his throat as he brings his hand further beneath your pillow and tucks you up against him.

You freeze as his growling dances across your sensitive skin, you felt like you had been caught by some predator as he kept you pinned beneath him and slowly began trying to nibble at you as if he was getting a light taste. You wouldn't lie and could admit that he was stinging you but it sent your soul into a soft shivering, excitement heating up your cheeks as he ran his nipping jaws back up to your ear. His breath came in slow, deep rollings that passed over your ear and into your hair as you tried to get another look at him. You fingertips began to trace the twisting scratches adorning his bones as you pinched your shoulder to your jaw and forced him back with a rather rough nudge to the side of his cheek, shivering as his breath tickles your skin and you let out a soft giggle as he peers down at you with his jaws clenched tightly together.

 

“It's my turn to ask where _this_ is coming from” you tease, grinning as his eyes narrow in thought.

 

“..the way that weed talked about you.. came into _my_ territory and stalked you.” he let his breath out through his teeth, his smirk hitching higher into his eyes as he gazed down to you, “really pissed me off.”

 

“Your territory, huh? Wouldn't this be _my_ apartment?” you hum, a smirk of your own tugging at your lips as you watched his eyes narrow further.

 

“mnn-? I can prove to you that this..” he jerked you up closer to him, murmuring against your lips, “is all mine..”

Flushing a deep pink you just stared up into his hungry gaze, you felt like he would just pounce on you at any moment as it sent your legs into a light fidgeting, grinding the into sheets beneath you. Swallowing heavily you can taste his breath as you opened your mouth to respond but only end up lightly panting along with him for a few moments before finally gathering your mind enough to gather some shred of composure.

 

“I don't believe you” you mutter with sass, glaring up playfully into his gaze.

 He dives back into your neck roughly, tilting your jaw upwards with a sharp nudge to expose your soft flesh and in an instant you begin writhing with a groan as his heated breath transforms into a deep bite. He holds onto you rather possessively, drawing you further underneath him as his arm snakes from under the pillow and to your back. His fingers grip into your soft flesh as he gnaws his teeth into your neck with fervor.

You try to formulate words but only whimper as a deep seated growl reverberates into your flesh to your very bones, tickling their way out across your body in a wave which renders you to soft panting and moans. He jerks his knee outward and weaves it between your legs, half way laying on you in a tight embrace. You squirm around in his arms, arching your back as his teeth sink in deeper trying to hold you still as a cool, slimy tendril slides along the inside of his bite. You gasp as it coats your skin in a tingling, gooey film.

Shakily you pull your hands up along his arms, feeling the odd texture of his bones at your fingers and palms. You could feel more of the rings of scratches from the fight last night but they didn't seem to bother him as you made your way up to his back and slowly clawed your fingers across his shoulder blades as you purposefully moaned. He shuddered into you, his hips pressing down into your thigh which you felt a growing bulge at his groin digging into you.

_'Is that..'_ you thought, but you knew. Biting at your lip as his teeth began chewing on you fully, running up your neck and pressing you down into the sheets as he reached just beneath your jaw. The motion forced your head back and to the side as he tasted you, his tongue hungrily stroking into your skin. His eager tasting left a trail of light blue saliva that tingled cooly on your neck, reminiscent of peppermint. You shuddered heavily from his biting, closing your eyes you tried to stifle a moan but it carried out on your breath.

This only egged him on further, rocking his hips up against your thigh heavily with a soft pant berating your neck as he pinned you beneath him. It had been awhile since you've had someone in your bed, let alone doing the things he was doing to you which was completely out of left field. The men you had been with were rather cut and dry, but this was on another level as he let out another deep growl that only made your body heat up, a whimper shaking from your lips as your body elongated across the bed.

He lurched his body suddenly, pressing his leg up against your crotch as he slid his other arm under you rather roughly, man handling you as he pulled his right hand from your back and slowly ran his hand up from your waist and along your sides. It was like he was examining you, his fingers kneading through your soft body to feel your ribs before slipping back down to grasp at your waist. His fingers groped at you as your light clawing turned into full on scratching, your nails hitching the fabric and grinding down across his bones through the shirt.

A low snarl rolled from his chest as he forced his way between your legs, pulling you to him with a sharp hiss as his damaged rib had pressed into you but he didn't pull away. You felt your toes curl as his throbbing bulge press right up against your crotch, slowly beginning to drive his hips into a deep rocking. You stuttered his name but he paid you no mind, trailing his fingers up under your shirt. His wrist caught the fabric as he slid upwards to your breast, lifting it up between his thumb and pointer finger before slowly sliding his thumb upwards to brush against the nipple.

Your hips bucked up against him at the sensation, gasping deeply as you wriggled around beneath him. Your movements only seemed to excite him further, his fangs close to piercing your skin as he let out a groan. It was long and drawn out, his rocking matching the noise as his hardened member ground it's way along you in such the right way you could feel the wetness building between you becoming uncomfortable, aching for more.

 

“O-oh my god..” you panted, clutching to him blindly as his hand fondled at your breast before pressing it's way back down to your sweats, his fingers skillfully slipping beneath the elastic and over your panties.

He was forced to back his hips off of you a tad as he ran his index finger down your mound before heavily pressing up against your folds and drove it's way upward. He could feel your heat and wetness, it rallied him as he shivered in anticipation. You felt your way to the front of his chest, carefully minding his damaged rib and slipped your hands up into the shirt. This was so different, so new you didn't really know where to touch him but as your fingers felt their way up along his spine he shuddered.

Sans' fangs eased up on you until he finally released you, his panting beating against the side of your face and exposed, tender neck. The feeling of air against that odd saliva of his fired it into a cooling sensation that fully coated the side of your neck and shoulder. You turned to look up at him and found his eyes dilated, jaws parted as he hovered above your face. It oddly resembled the feral snarling you had seen glimpses of but this was up close and personal, deeply intimate.

Your breath caught in your throat as you felt his bony fingers pull your panties to the side and dip ever so slightly into your slit before coming up along the clit, pressing and grinding into it slowly which sent you into a trembling mess. Your hips rolled and played into his motions as he chuckled lightly down to you.

“so wet already..?” he murmured, slipping his fingers down to your slit and teasingly dipped his fingertips in. He enjoyed how your walls sucked at them before pulling back up to press and roll into the sensitive nub, effectively smearing your sweet essence against you.

You felt flush as your eyelids fell once more from the moan that shook from your body, flinging a hand up to grip the back of his neck and pull him closely to you as you openly kissed at his mouth. You felt your own fangs grind against his hardened teeth as you snarled from his teasing, this pleased him as he bit back at your teeth in a sort of play fighting. A bead of drool slipped down over your lips as you two growled into each others mouths, he was of course winning. You let out an aggravated groan before lashing your tongue out to lap into his maw and was quickly met with his own, thick tongue that churned against your own.

Sans continued to slowly test you, only lightly dipping his fingers in before teasing your sensitive nub. You drew your legs up as you spread them further, attempting to give him a hint but he only continued with his slow movements. It was driving you mad. As your tongues continued to toss and roll against each other your free hand roughly traced it's way down his spine, his movements pausing as a moan slipped it's way into your mouth. You came down to his shorts and went exploring, sliding your fingers over his hip bone and as you went further down you came to a rather cool, slippery appendage.

You could feel his bones quiver as you ran your fingers down along his length before slipping back up, it was an awkward attempt as the pants you loaned him prevented any form of grip. You snatched the waist band and tugged it down, his cock catching on the fabric but before he could try complaining about it you ducked your hand back in and gripped onto him. He let out a slight gasp and that's when you freed him from his pants, stroking your hand down along his length as you sucked his tongue into your mouth demandingly.

A hard shudder ran it's way along his spine as he suddenly shoved his two fingers within you, pulling them back out with a slight hook to grab along your walls. A burst of electricity washed over your body. You gave a soft cry, releasing his tongue which he quickly took back before ducking his face back down into your neck and let out a heavy breath into your skin. His deep, methodical breathing pounding into the crook of your neck as you stroked along his length slowly just as he had done to you.

The appendage was much like his tongue but more firm, he was thicker than any man you've been with although relatively average in length. You felt a wet bead of precum building on him as you explored, pressing your thumb into it to smear his juices against the head of his throbbing shaft before working your way back down and up again. He was slick, yet the feeling left a cool tingling sensation that stained your skin as you continued to please him. You could feel him shudder and twitch beneath your motions, feeding your confidence as his moans pressed right against the side of your ear, deep and hungry.

It didn't take long for him to snarl, a twisted and throaty sound. He pulled his hand from your groin, ignoring your whimpers as he grabbed at your waist band and tugged your pants and panties down. He lifted himself slightly so you could finish kicking them off of the foot of the bed before he nestled right back in. He grabbed your wrist as you attempted to continue stroking and pinned it into the bed above your head, you gripped onto the back of his neck tightly as he rocked his hips into you. The length of his shaft grinding against your slit to which you both groaned at, he let out a soft snicker.

 

“ready to be claimed as mine..?” he cooed, gazing down at you as you trembled, “i need you to say it for me.” he nearly snarled again, his jaws clenched into a broad smirk.

 

“I..” you gasped and arched your back to it's full extent as he slowly ground his cock against you, you could feel it throbbing, “Y-yes.. please..” you whimper.

He gently pulled his hips away from you, shifting his weight onto his knees as he pulled his left hand down along your back. He pressed his fingertips along your spine, making you arch your back with a gasp before giving your ass a tight squeeze and slid his hand free to line himself up and with one deep rocking of his hips he pressed into you. You gave out a soft cry, tilting your head back as he forced your walls to stretch along his cool, slippery cock. He gave one solid thrust to fully bury himself within you which prompted a groan from him and squeak from you.

 

“good girl” he murmured, nuzzling the side of your face before dipping down to the other side of your neck. Parting his jaws he then drug his tongue along your skin heavily, lapping up the sweat forming over your flushing flesh. His hand went back to your waist, digging his bony palm against your hip bone while his fingers dug into your skin.

His affections gave you a moment to try gathering yourself as you acclimated to him within you, he filled you nicely but edged on pain as he rocked his hips forward, grinding within you and into your cervix. The pressure in your stomach caused you to clench your jaw. He must have noticed your body tense as he turned his teeth to press against your skin and softly shushed you, you drew in a deep breath and shakily let it out as your back nestled back into the mattress.

He didn't wait for you like he had earlier, instead he snapped onto your neck in a vicious bite before drawing his hips back and thrust deeply within you. Rewarded with a cry he only shoved you further into the sheets as he picked his pace into a steady, driving rhythm. The box spring lightly began to squeak as he growled into your throat, his length coaxing your walls to shudder and tighten around him as he deepened the angle and struck right at your sweet spot. You saw stars as the familiar electricity sparked along your body, gasping and moaning his name which was drown by a deep rumbling within his chest.

A pressure started to build in the air the longer he thrust to you, you recognized it as his magic, it began to electrify the room as your legs picked up and wrapped around his waist. Able to drive himself deeper you found your body tensing, getting so close to the edge that you couldn't help but arch your back groan his name deeply, dragging it out which only made his fangs sink further and further into your flesh. You felt light pricks of warm blood trickle down your skin but you didn't care, he had picked up his pace and was pounding into you more eratically.

You could feel his bones digging into you painfully but you didn't care, so close to your climax that it only added pleasure from his greedy humping. You were murmuring his name frantically, spurring him to shove his hand underneath you to grip tightly at your ass to pull your hips up into him which deepened his thrusts. His cock ramming into you with a lusting desire that not only hit your sweetest places but also drove into your cervix, building a deep ache within your stomach.

He soon sent you over the edge, you clutched to him tightly as wave of pleasure sent your body into a quivering mess. Clenching your jaw tighter than before you let out a loud choking cry that you tried to suppress by snapping your teeth shut. Baring your own fangs to the ceiling, hissing through your teeth. Sans gave a few more bucks before spearing into you with an aggressive slew of snarling, his saliva dripping down along your shoulder and chest as the pressure in the air sparked and dissipated while his seed poured in rope after rope.

It took him a moment to pull from your neck, running his tongue tenderly over the sore bite marks as you whimpered and lay panting beneath him. You felt your combined juices coat the inside of your thighs and slip down over your ass onto the sheets but he remained buried within you, enjoying every last remaining twitch and shudder your body gave him. His essence felt like ice within you, the sensation sending chills down your spine.

 

“H-holy shit..” you panted, keeping your eyes closed as you tried to regain yourself but he merely watched your expression with a smirk.

 

“mmmn..?” he drew lazily.

 

“T-that was.. amazing..” you laughed lightly as you fluttered your eyes open and looked over to him, he was licking over his blood tinged fangs to clean them and you shivered at the sight. His tongue was slightly transparent and bright blue just how his eye would get during a battle, it moved more like a tentacle than a tongue.

He clicked his teeth back together, the harsh edges melting as his magic dissipated. He slowly let up on your wrist as he shifted his weight and drew his cock from you, adjusting his waistband with his now free hand. He hovered over you for a moment, watching you as you pulled yourself up to plant a soft kiss against his teeth and laid back down. He followed you, lightly nuzzling your forehead with his brow as he chuckled and carefully moved himself to lay beside you with a satisfied sigh.

You pushed yourself back up, rubbing your face with a hand as you glanced down and saw that he left a mess of sticky, blue film all over you. Even his bites had left trails of saliva that coasted down your shoulders and to your chest, soaking into your disheveled shirt. You sighed and looked at him, the tingling of his magic continued to play across your skin as the air fanned it.

 

“I haven't taken as many showers in the past few days than I have ever within a short time period,” you huff as he lounges back against the pillows with his eyes half lidded and watches you. Proud of himself.

 

You noticed, “Oh you dick,” you laughed, carefully making your way to the edge of the bed and stood, albeit a little wobbly. It had been a long time since your last intimacy and it showed as you tried to get your legs to cooperate but his seed left an icy sensation all through you. It prickled all along your neck and down your thighs while internally the tingling sensation was like soft sparking, it sent you shuddering and made it hard to finish catching your breath.

As you carefully stepped around the bed he pulled his hands behind his head, leaning back and enjoying the sight of his handiwork. He had marked all along your neck with stinging bite points that were lightly coated in a transparent blue residue, he also took note of the similar effect that dribbled down your thighs as you tried to gather up a change of clothes. It satisfied him, for now.

You finished picking out your clothes for the day and went to shower, glancing over your shoulder to see him laying there on the bed with his eyes closed as if nothing had happened. You could hardly believe it, you were so flustered and sore while he looked like he has just been napping. You shook your head, grinned and headed out of the room completely missing how he cracked open an eye to watch your hips sway as you walked.

 

He ran his tongue against the inside of his teeth, still lightly tasting you as you disappeared from his field of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this was something you guys want more of, let me know!  
> We are going to start getting into the thickest part of the plot so now is the best time for these scenes. Thanks for reading!


	20. Community Service

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the park utterly destroyed you find yourself lending a hand to help fix the damage and even Flowey is cooperating.  
> Wait, why is that? You hope Frisk has a solid plan for the monster, but are getting an unsettling feeling as the day goes on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahh this chapter is long but necessary.  
> It was a bit difficult for me to write hence why it took so long to edit and publish so I'm sorry about that BUT the plot begins to thicken, baha!

After your morning shower you went back into your room to see Sans in the exact same position, his eyes closed and chest slowly rising and falling. You smile a bit and leave to the kitchen to start making some coffee, greeting Chip as he came over to rub along your legs with some friendly chittering.

 

“Hey bud..” you murmur, reaching down to scratch along his back to which he slowly blinked at and arched his spine, “What should I make for breakfast today, huh?”

 

Chip purred, letting out a light meow to which you giggled at and slowly stroked his gray fur back into place, “the usual..? All right, good plan.”

 

You gave him a soft patting on his lower back before straightening back up and getting everything prepped to make some eggs and toast with a side of fruit. You had the same thing for breakfast every weekend as it was usually pretty cheap, healthy and did the job of filling you up. Today though you made two plates, flushing slightly with a grin over your face. You took his words of 'claiming' you as just some kind of kinky dirty talk but at the same time, deep down, you felt your soul shiver at it.

You plated the eggs and washed up the pan you used quickly before sticking bread into the toaster and went about setting the fruit on a cutting board which were just some banana's and strawberries. You began cutting them up, humming lightly to yourself as a soft touch at your sides made you jump with a soft yip. Sans chuckled deeply at the back of your neck as his arms fully snaked around your stomach and held you to him, pressing his grin into your shoulder as he peered down at what you were doing.

 

“Hey sleepy head,” you murmur, glancing over at him before going back to work, “How's your rib..?”

 

“eh.” he shrugged, nuzzling lightly into your neck which you squeaked at and crunched up beneath his tickling with a fit of giggles.

 

“Sans, god damnit, I'm holding a knife.”

 

"gonna _butter_ me up some more, love?” he chuckled, sending a blush over your face as you set the utensil down.

 

 “I have no words for you,” you smirk, distributing the fruit between both of your plates as he shudders in a laugh.

 

“You sure had plenty for me earlier..” he growls into your skin before imitating a light, higher pitched panting before pressing his teeth to your ear, “saaanss~”

You felt your flush rise into your ears, probably a good shade of red as you stood with your jaw clenched tightly in embarrassment, “Oh my god, Sans!”

He snickered, pulling his arms from around your waist and ran his hands over your hips gently, “yeah. you said that too,” he watched you snag the freshly toasted bread, buttering them quickly and set them on the plates.

“Okay mister afterglow,” you laugh, swatting his hands away from you as you pick up the plates and turn around to meet him eye to eye. His smile is broad, eyes unwavering from yours as you hand him his plate and stride off to the living room to sit on the couch to eat. He doesn't seem to be following you but then suddenly appears on the couch in his spot, feet up on the coffee table as you switch on the TV. You only slightly jumped at his sudden appearance, finally getting used to his lazy teleportation ability but as you looked over at him you found him wearing a new pair of slippers he hadn't had last night.

 

“Where did you get those?” you laughed, taking a bite of your food.

 

“snagged em from home before i got to the kitchen,” he winked at you.

 

“Wow..” you snorted, “Where do you even live..?”

 

“not far. i can't really teleport long distances, takes too much effort” he says flatly, shifting into the cushions as he looked away from you to the TV a smirk forming over his face.

 

“What?” you playfully glare, turning to the TV yourself as you polish off your eggs.

 

“why are you always watching this shit?” he murmurs, popping a piece of fruit into his mouth as the local news station plays across the screen.

You pull your legs up under you as you dig into your toast with a grin, “I like knowing what's going on, don't you?”

 

“i already know what's happening” he chuckles as you rolled your eyes, chewing on your toast as they go over the weather but the script running along the bottom catches your eye.

_'-MONSTER MAGIC USE TO BLAME?'_

 

“Did you see that?” you ask, pointing to the screen as Sans opens his jaws and slinks his long blue tongue across the plate, swiping up the eggs you made and jerks them into his maw to chew. He hums a moment as the type scrolls back around and he raises a brow.

_'ST. ABRAHAMS PARK DESTROYED, ANCHORS ON THEIR WAY TO INVESTIGATE. IS MONSTER MAGIC USE TO BLAME?'_

 

“i wouldn't say it's destroyed”

You turned and watched him lick up both slices of toasted bread, chewing them as he met your gaze through the corner of his eyes. So that's how he ate so fast. You shook the thought and snorted, “well maybe not the entire park but that area was totally wrecked! I didn't even think about it, everything was happening so fast..”

 _'We are here live at the scene with monster ambassador Frisk Dreemurr and King of all Monsters, Asgore Dreemurr.'_ You whip back to the screen, biting another chunk of your toast as you see Frisk. They were wearing the same backpack from last night as they stood on a table to be in the shot next to Asgore who didn't have to lean to the microphone to be heard clearly, _'Howdy'_ he smiled.

_'Mister Dreemurr, was the damage done to the park conducted by the use of magic and if so who would that monster be?'_

Asgore kept his head high, his eyes trained on the anchor who you recognized from last week, the man looked genuinely nervous and it made you smile, _'Yes, the damage was done by the use of a certain type of magic that can be common to plant elemental monsters.'_

The camera panned to the scene, you nearly choked at the images, the middle of the forested area of the park looked like an inferno had blazed hundreds of degrees within a quarter mile. Trees were shattered and split, charred carcasses of the living things they once were. A good layer of dust and debris covered the ground, luckily the wind had blown away all of your foot prints in the soft hills of built up ash.

The news anchor swallowed audibly before speaking up, a slight anger in his tone, _'Even though with magic use banned this still happened, what course of action will you be taking to ensure this monster faces proper justice?'_

 

“Oh christ I hate this guy so much..” you mutter, snatching up another bite of your food while Sans merely chuckled and picked fruit to toss into his jaws as you both watched the screen.

 

Asgore laughed deeply from his gut as Frisk folded their arms and stared at the anchor, you could see movement shift around in their backpack which was probably Flowey, _'We had a better plan in mind.'_

The king then gestured off to the side of the screen, away from the anchor as the camera panned and captured a throng of monsters preparing and organizing with Toriel leading the groups. There were giant dumpsters and plenty of tools being passed around as Asgore spoke up, _'We have called all of our friends to come help us fix the damage.'_

You gasped as you saw Jenny with her hair pulled back in a pony tail, leading a small group of humans and introduced them to Undyne and Papyrus who must have been appointed group leaders. Papyrus was easily distinguishable as is but he wore some kind of running outfit and Undyne had a tank top and leggings on. She was barking orders to a group of dog monsters as the camera panned back to the anchor.

 _'The turnout is staggering, we will be able to finish fixing the area with the same magic that was used to do the damage.'_ Asgore smiled as the anchor stammered, trying to come up with a retort as he shifted his feet across the ground but Asgore cut him off gently, _'The mayor has given us explicit permission for magic use in the park to demonstrate how it is nothing to be afraid of.'_

The anchor stood there, gaping like a fish out of water and the camera quickly cut to his co-host who was a woman as she stepped lightly across the damaged field, _'That's right, folks. You too can come down and lend a helping hand to not only restore St. Abraham's Park but make it even more beautiful than before.'_

The woman gasped as she stumbled, the camera catching her goof as she simply turned to look at the ground and laughed. She knelt down, picking something up out of the ash and shook it out before holding a dirtied slipper to the camera, _'This is your co-host Sandra Mallock, putting the right foot forward on local news.'_

You nearly started howling with laughter, setting the now empty plate beside you as you lightly smacked the back of your hand against Sans arm, “She found your fucking slipper!”

He was also laughing, holding at his damaged rib as his breaths came sharply in and out trying to control himself but being unable to, “oh my god. that was good.”

You managed to calm your laughter as the camera panned to the monsters dividing up and began to get to work, the screen following the female co-host as she began chatting with Toriel who worked the camera just as well as Asgore had. Frisk was running about in the background chasing after Papyrus who was laughing and leading the group of dog monsters who chased him a bit too enthusiastically.

 

“Oh.. Hey why weren't we invited to this..?” you look over to Sans, “We should go down and help out.”

 

“they probably just figured we were hurt” he shrugged, popping the last piece of fruit into his mouth.

 

“Well we should still go down and help out-” you squeaked as he quickly wrapped an arm around you and pulled you into his side, using his free hand to cup your chin and tilt your head up to him as he leaned down and murmured.

 

“or we could stay here and get more comfortable” his breath had a twinge of strawberries.

“Hmmn..” you pondered as you closed the distance, hovering against his twitching grin before planting a soft kiss on his teeth to which he purred at. Your hand slowly slipped over onto his lap to which he gave a shudder and relaxed his grip on you. This is when you took your chance and grabbed onto his empty plate, breaking the kiss and jumped to your feet to collect your own plate then skipped into the kitchen with a large grin spread across your lips as you sang.

“Or we could go help our friends~!” you could hear him muttering as you put away the dirty dishes, making yourself a quick cup of coffee to energize yourself for the long day ahead. As you turned back to the living room you found him playfully glaring at you, his canines beginning to show through his neutral grin.

You could only smile, trying to suppress your laughter by taking a drink of your coffee but kept your eyes on the pouting skeleton. He huffed, groaning loudly at the inconvenience of having to stand up and rolled his shoulders as he strode over to you. His eyes were half lidded as he went to walk past you and down the hall but stopped, turning his head he flicked his white eyes over your face and chuckled, “fine. we will go and help out.”

You lowered your drink, about to speak when he suddenly caught your chin and smirked, leaning close to your face with his fangs clearly visible and that hungry stare plastered over his features, “but tonight..” you heard him take in a slow breath, sending a shiver down your spine, “tonight.. you're all mine.”

Your breath hitched at his words, the intimacy of the moment sweeping your mind away to this morning. He noticed your train of thought and chuckled, gently sweeping your hair out of your face to tuck it behind your ear and then trudged back to the bedroom to get his phone, “i'll tell papyrus we're on our way”

Standing there you almost forgot where you were as you let out the breath you had been holding and took another good drink from your mug as you walked back into the living room and shut the TV off. Walking back down the hall to the bedroom you could hear Papyrus yelling through the receiver, Sans just stood there with the phone held clear away from his face.

 

“BROTHER YOU ARE IN NO CONDITION TO BE HELPING! YOU WILL JUST COME HERE AND BOONDOGGLE ANYWAYS.”

 

“yeah. that a bad thing, bro?” he winked to you.

You held a hand over your mouth to muffle your giggles as Papyrus let out a drawn out, aggravated sigh. Taking another drink of your mug you went to the closet and picked out some proper clothes that were okay to ruin, some running pants like Undyne had on and an older tank top. You could feel Sans' gaze on your back as you rummaged around.

 

“FINE! BUT I AM THROWING AWAY THESE SLIPPERS FOR YOU, THEY ARE FILTHY!”

 

“awe c'mon paps those are lucky.”

 

Papyrus' voice became rather flat, “NO THEY ARE NOT.”

You got a grip on your giggles as you quickly finished off your coffee, setting the mug on a shelf before slipping out of your clothes quickly. You didn't mind if he saw you, he had known you more intimately earlier this morning so what was there to hide?

“now paps let's not get off on the wrong _foot_ here” he was much closer to you now, you shivered but finished getting dressed as Papyrus let out a deep sigh over the receiver. You blinked as something caught your eye in the closet, reaching in to grab an old black hoodie you had. You then turned to be met with Sans' gaze as he was standing right there in front of you, you just glared at him playfully and he gave a soft chuckle. You handed him the hoodie to which he blinked at, taking it with his free hand. He stepped back to let you pass by as you went to the bathroom to get your hair in order.

 

“I'M HANGING UP NOW”

 

“heh heh okay papyrus. bye.” Sans waited to hear Papyrus reciprocate before hitting the end call button, looking over to his ruined jacket on the desk with a sigh before turning back to the hoodie you placed in his hands. He shrugged and carefully dawned it, his hands nestling into the front pocket comfortably as you popped your head in the door frame.

 

“Ready?” you quipped.

“yeah. come here.” he said while sauntering over to you. You raised your eyebrow but obeyed, stepping into the room and came face to face with the skeleton as he took his hands back out from the pocket and carefully drew you into his chest. You were mindful of his ribs and wrapped your arms around his neck.

 

“You sure you're okay to be teleporting?” you murmur, resting your forehead into his neck.

 

“heh. babe. i used magic earlier” he chuckled, making you smile sheepishly, “just hold on.”

You didn't have time to think as the floor gave way beneath your feet, vanishing out of the apartment and into the void. It always made your stomach flip but an odd static fizzled in your ears as you clutched onto Sans, before it could develop further you were suddenly standing in the park. You blinked and looked around with your arms still around Sans, that was strange.. Maybe you just hadn't noticed the noise before. You were drawn from your curiosity as yelling, hooting and barking echoed to your right and realized he had dropped you both off a bit away from the area so it wouldn't be too jarring. He lightly began pulling away from you and you untangled yourself of out his embrace with a smile.

 

“all right. let's go see for ourselves, yeah?” he smirked, holding his hand out for you to take which you did before you both set off through the trees at a leisurely pace towards the commotion. You'd bring up the noise to him later, after you helped your friends.

You two easily passed into clearing, looking around curiously. Some strong, muscular monsters were actually tearing dead stumps out of the ground with their bare hands. That group was lead by Undyne who shouted and pumped everyone up before she herself heaved one from the ground, shaking it high above her head with a victorious cry. You had no idea how she did it or had the energy after last night, but it made you giggle as she threw the large stump onto a pile of damaged wood.

Your eyes swept over to the next team which worked together to carry off the dead logs to dumpsters while Papyrus led them, shouting and jogging along side winded and sweating volunteers. He had a cropped tank top on with “JOGBOY” across the chest, he could carry two logs at once with one on each shoulder. You had no idea he was that strong and just stared as he tossed them into the large metal dumpsters.

 

Sans noticed you and began to chuckle, “yeah papyrus is pretty cool, huh?”

You giggled and nodded excitedly, continuing to watch for a moment before catching Asgore, Toriel and Frisk more towards the center of the field. They were directing multiple groups of volunteers that were to rake up smaller dead foliage and dispose of them in the same dumpsters, some clear areas of the ground showed just how badly Flowey had disrupted the Earth as it was left severely uneven and cracked. Speaking of which you then caught the monster sitting in the backpack strapped to Frisk, he was looking around with boredom drawn all over his features with his leaves crossed across his stem.

 

“he wont try anything with all these monsters here,” Sans murmured, squeezing your hand to shake you from your staring.

 

“Y-yeah,” you cleared your throat and smiled before you both began to cross the field, you hoped he was right. You soon stumbled onto Papyrus who had ran across your path to get back to the growing pile of dead logs Undyne was stacking with some help from two huge, muscular monsters that resembled a dragon and a bunny.

 

“HUMAN! MAKE SURE MY BROTHER IS SOMEWHAT HELPFUL. HE IS NOTORIOUS FOR BOONDOGGLING!”

 

“hey, i help. i put plenty of _backbone_ into my work,” he chuckled as Papyrus sighed, tilting his head back with a hand to his temple.

 

“SANS THAT WAS TERRIBLE. GO SEE FRISK, THEY WILL HELP FIT YOU INTO A JOB THAT WILL SURELY BE.. _SPINE TINGLING_.” He seemed to hate the fact he said a pun but it made Sans laugh hard enough to wince, lightly touching his chest with his free hand.

Papyrus noticed his brother's discomfort and softened his expression but Sans just waved his hand before placing it back into the pocket of the hoodie, “i'm fine bro, i see you've got your hands full anyways.. got a _skele-ton_ of work to do around here.”

You and Sans started to laugh as Papyrus palmed at his skull and groaned before Undyne started to shout over to you. You all turn and see her flailing her arms wildly, sweat glistening over her scarred blue skin, “Hey punks! Go see Frisk they will wanna see you!”

 

“Sure thing!” you yell back with a wave, monsters and humans both trickled around you as they went about their work.

Papyrus smiles broadly, announcing, “I WILL GET BACK TO MY DUTIES, SEE YOU AROUND BROTHER AND HUMAN SUN!” he then ran back over to Undyne who had picked up a log to pass over to him.

You turn back to look towards Toriel, Asgore and Frisk who had noticed you both from all the shouting, they smiled as you both as you approached. You had to weave through a group of passing humans all carrying water bottles with sweat dripping over their brow. You were surprised at how many humans had come out to help and some had appeared to have been here since this morning.

As you approached hand in hand Frisk scampered over to the both of you, catching a glimpse of Flowey as he ducked into the back pack and drew the flap to cover the opening. Frisk threw their arms around your waist into a hug you laughed and ruffled their hair, “Heya kiddo, what a turn out huh?”

Frisk let go of you to then turn and carefully hug Sans, he chuckled and fished his phone out from his pocket before setting it on their head to which they suddenly grew a determined stare as they balanced the device carefully before starting to walk in a slow circle around the both of you, giggling as they went.

 

“Ah yes, we have much support from the city,” Asgore spoke, his horns glinting rays of sunlight, “that local news station has even set up camp to cover our progress for the day,” he dipped his head in a gesture to pull your gaze to the right hand side, seeing the same woman from earlier explaining the first steps to clean up the park before planting could begin.

 

“Are you sure you both are all right to be out here..?” Toriel asked sweetly, her eyes looking sad.

 

“Of course!” you smiled, “It'll be fun.”

You all lightly chatted before being assigned to help out, most of the field had already been cleared away but they still needed help removing all the heavy logs in the area as others began landscaping. Sans was instructed to go help out his brother as he could use magic to help lift the logs while you were sent off to help a group of humans set up some garden plots as others scrambled about to make stepping stones around them.

Jenny was leading this group and she greeted you with a sweaty, hot hug but you didn't mind. She held you a little longer than usual before leading you through to help start laying down topsoil within the plots. You noticed that the gardens were in an intricate circle and as you looked towards the middle you saw Alphys stutter and direct some more human workers to start laying a foundation for a gazebo. You made a note to go say hello when you could and went to work.

You chatted happily with the other volunteers who quickly became good acquaintances, your conversation only being interrupted about an hour later by Papyrus' yelling and when you looked over you couldn't help but to burst into laughter. Sans was perched lazily on the log Papyrus and Undyne both had to carry to the dumpster, his arms behind his head and legs crossed while rotating an ankle in the air.

 

“SANS YOU LAZY BONES! I KNEW YOU WOULD JUST LAYABOUT! GET DOWN FROM THERE!”

 

“ok.”

 

“I MEAN RIGHT NOW SANS! MOVE!”

 

“ok.” he bounced his leg lazily in the air, hanging from his opposite knee. You could hear Undyne growling with irritation.

 

“SANS!”

 

“what? you told me to move.”

 

Papyrus 'Nyeh'd in frustration but was cut off by Undyne getting a determined scowl across her face, gripping onto the log tightly.

“You're making it really tempting to take you out with the trash, Sans!” she bellowed, shaking the log roughly which jostled the brother from his place and to the ground. He landed perfectly, knees slightly bent before straightening up with his shit eating grin. Papyrus was starting to scold him but Undyne just shoved herself forward and took the lanky skeleton with her to finish off the rest of the remaining logs so they could move on to something else.

The scene got quite a few laughs from around the clearing before everyone dug back into their jobs. There were so many people that things were getting done rather quickly, trucks came to pick up the full dumpsters while others arrived with fresh soil to start laying down and evening out the ground in the areas that desperately needed it. You recognized the largest crater was from Flowey being uprooted, it left an odd sensation in your gut but you pushed it away while you went to work.

It wasn't long before some rabbit monsters came up to your group with wheelbarrows full of golden flowers, they smelt just like the tea you had and were quite beautiful. Asgore suddenly made an appearance and helped both you and Jenny to start planting, his hands were large and rough but he was so gentle and tender with the little plants. You couldn't help but watch him before he caught you staring and smiled, chuckling, “In the underground these flowers were all over the throne room.. my children had loved playing there.”

 

His eyes were soft, smiling but a sadness crept over his features as you turned back to your work. You couldn't think of anything to say but were extra gentle with the little plants as you sealed them in their new home in the park. You all worked together and worked hard, managing to get all of the planters filled and as you stood and wiped the sweat from your brow you smiled. You heard Jenny gasp and saw her face light up to something behind you, you raised an eyebrow and turned to be met with the Gazebo nearly finished. A bunch of monsters finishing off the detail to the structure and you even noticed Grillby hammering away on the roof.

“Oh my god, Jen. This place is turning out so well!” you watched in awe before Doggo came by, handing you all water bottles as he went. You graciously drank from the bottle, nearly downing half of it right then and there before sighing and looking up over the clearing. Some other news station had appeared but a tall robotic man with black hair and pink knee high boots commanded everyone's full attention as he gave his report. You couldn't really hear him but you noticed how the monsters and humans near him couldn't take their eyes off of the attractive being, he was like a celebrity or some kind of movie star.

Your break was short lived as you then went on to help paint the gazebo. The whole clearing was being tilled and resettled with fresh soil, an earthy scent filling the air. You weren't sure where Sans had gone as you just caught glimpses of him here and there, never really doing anything but seemingly all over the place.

 

As the midday sun started to wane you stood along with your friends as you took in the new scene before you. The clearing was mostly just dirt but all the dead debris had been removed and the centerpiece garden/gazebo looked stunning all on their own. The paint had been magically infused so it dried almost immediately and gave off a vibrant white glow down across the yellow flowers coating the ground between a weaving stone pathway. The floor of the gazebo was adorned with a monster delta rune in the same golden color, it was made by intricately cut woodwork and reminded you of a mosaic.

You felt a crowd building up at your back, turning you came to meet a slew of cameras facing towards Asgore who had his hand on Frisk's shoulder. The child was smeared with dirt but beamed proudly as they held their back pack to their chest. Before the woman you recognized from the TV this morning could speak the robotic man slid into the shot, holding his microphone as he posed with the king and Frisk.

 

“Darling, tell us what the last step is for all our viewers at home!” he dipped the microphone down to Frisk but they merely smiled and set down their back pack, peeling the flap back to dig inside and pulled out Flowey who was cupped in their tiny hands. He was drooping, his back to the camera as Frisk knelt down and set him on the ground. You watched with wide eyes, leaning forward as your mind raced but you were pulled away from the thought of intervening by a hand on your shoulder. It was cold and bony.

You glanced over to see Sans standing there, his neutral smile on his face as he watched your expression. Your mouth felt dry as you turned back to watch as Frisk signed something to Flowey, he watched them and lightly shook his petals at the instruction. The clearing had gone silent as his roots dug into the soil, it made you incredibly uncomfortable. You wanted to believe in Frisk that Flowey had the potential to be good but after the fight last night you had no real hope for the monster.

Sans' hand slid from your shoulder, down your arm and laced his fingers between yours as he came to stand up beside you. His presence allowed you to relax if only slightly, biting on your bottom lip as you saw Flowey nestle in and face towards the clearing, hesitating. Your jaw soon became slack as tints of green began to wash outward from the flower, blades of grass breaking up through the soil in a spiraling wave. It even flushed up around your feet to which you gave a startled squeak while other humans stumbled from the show of magic.

Chatter fired up amongst the human volunteers as Flowey's magic summoned the field into a blanket of green and you caught yourself staring, mouth open in awe as everything now came together. The sunlight danced off of the slightly swaying blades of grass and sparkled off of the planted yellow flowers so wonderfully bordering the pastel white gazebo. Just yesterday this section of the forest was nothing special but now it was a private, secluded retreat from the city. If nobody had believed in magic they sure would after today.

The monsters all began to clap and eventually the humans did as well, you looked over the crowd and saw Undyne give Papyrus' a congratulatory slap on the back to which he laughed at. Alphys was standing on the other side of Undyne and was wiping at her eyes. Sans took a few steps forwards, gently tugging at your hand so you would follow him as he stepped through the crowd and towards Frisk who had picked Flowey back up from the ground. You caught a glimpse of the flowers face which seemed.. soft?

That moment was short lived though. Flowey spun his head around as you both came to the front of the crowd and snorted, looking disgusted before Frisk gently set him back into the pack, the robot then boomed with an announcer like voice, “Ladies and Gentlemen there you have it! True action, drama and beauty!”

You watched the man dip and pose, Frisk soon following suit as they struck a heroic pose like they had in the diner yesterday. Asgore took a step back as he chuckled, Toriel off to the side of him looked genuinely happy as Frisk got into the moment with the robot monster. You noticed the human television networks had set aside their anchors and were filming the scene, it made you smile.

The cameras were soon shut off and you were then introduced to the robot. His name was Metatton and was a profound celebrity in the monster world of television, having started off in the underground with his own TV show and various consumable products all labeled MTT. (Which you noticed the camera equipment was also thusly labeled) He seemed like an interesting character and as the rest of the gang came up and joined you he said goodbye just as fast as he had greeted them saying something about Hollywood.

You turned your attention back towards the group, smiling sheepishly, “He seemed nice.”

 

“Yeaah, I'm not sure if I like him but I appreciate his lifestyle!” Undyne laughed, her hands on her waist.

 

“I'm sorry to interrupt but I think we may need to be getting home..” Toriel murmured, a smile over her lips as Frisk drowsily rubbed at their eyes. She set her hand gently on the child's head and shoulder as Sans took his hand from yours, stepping forward.

 

“heh heh. all right kid, c'mon i know a shortcut,” He held out his hand for the child to take and as soon as his fingers gripped onto them they were gone backpack and all, Toriel had also vanished.

 

“So.. Why did Flowey do all that..? Doesn't he want to create problems, not solve them?” you ask, looking over everyone.

 

“HE DIDN'T DO A VIOLENCE AT ALL TODAY! ACTUALLY. THINKING ABOUT IT HE HASN'T SAID ANYTHING EITHER.” Papyrus thought, folding his arms as Undyne shifted all of her weight onto one leg with a huff.

 

“Yeah he's done that shit before, then he went and pulled that face changing stunt-” Alphys nudged the woman, looking to Asgore but he just smiled.

 

“It seems as if he wants to please Frisk. I saw them talking this morning and Frisk had reassured him that he would have his soul back soon-”

 

“Err..” Alphys murmured, fidgeting her claws together, “I'm not so sure about having it _soon_.”

 

Undyne gripped onto her shoulder with reassurance as she beamed her toothy grin down to her, “C'mon Alphys stop doubting yourself!”

 

“YEAH! YOU'RE THE ROYAL SCIENTIST!” Papyrus threw in, “WE HAVE FAITH IN YOU!”

 

Alphys stammered nervously, a pink blush crawling into her face as she placed her palms on her cheeks. She kept her gaze down at the ground as she spoke, “I-i feel like I'm close.. B-but everything I make j-just falls apart..”

 

“You can.. make souls..?” You blinked, in awe.

 

“Y-yes, well in theory.. Human souls a-are much more complex b-but monster souls are primarily made of love, hope and compassion.”

You took in her words, digesting them. Papyrus had said that Sans had low hope.. what had that meant? She continued as Sans reappeared beside you, you didn't even flinch this time as he stood with his hands in his jacket pocket.

 

“B-but since monster souls are made up of m-mostly magic they're very in tune with their souls.. I-i think i-it's because Flowey doesn't experience emotion to have compassion or hope..” Papyrus frowned at this knowingly, Undyne went to say something but Sans soon spoke up.

 

“don't worry about monster soul magic, alphys. it's probably not a good idea anyways.” he shrugged under Undyne's glaring stare while you glanced over to him.

 

“What do you mean? If Flowey had a soul then he would stop being such a raging asshole, right?” you raised an eyebrow as he avoided your gaze and kept his eyes trained onto Alphys.

 

“I-i feel like I'm so c-close..” Alphys pulled her hands from her face and met Sans' gaze with her own, “If I could.. maybe find another blueprint in the true lab I could-”

 

She cut herself off, her eyes widening as Sans' eye sockets became completely black, “there aren't any more blueprints..” he murmured, an edge in his voice that took you off guard.

 

“besides..” he continued, his white pupils bouncing back up into his sockets as his grin hitched higher in an attempt to cover for his upset, “the underground is too far away to just teleport to. let's see how things go.”

 

“YES! MAYBE THIS IS A GOOD SIGN OF REFORM!” Papyrus grinned, he was always so positive and innocent.

 

“It could be. But let's keep our eyes and ears open for now,” Asgore said, lightly patting Alphys on the shoulder to which she smiled at him nervously, “We will cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Alphys nodded, she seemed to settle back down as she straightened her posture just as Sans grabbed onto your hand and passively looked at his opposite wrist. You noticed how the fading sunlight cast heavy shadows across his scratched and fissured bones, Alphys also noticed the damage and cast her eyes down to the ground as if guilty of something.

 

“wow would you look at the time..” he began.

 

“SANS. NO.” Papyrus crossed his arms and stamped his foot into the grass.

 

“what? i was _ulna_ gonna say it's half past _bone_ -thirty” Sans chuckled as Papyrus let out a sigh, Undyne looked rather disgusted by it as well but Asgore was laughing lightly to himself as the skeleton pocketed his hand back into the jacket, “we gotta get goin'.”

 

“All right, thank you both for helping out here today. I feel it will help our case tomorrow at the conference, goodnight.” Asgore bowed his head to you all gently before turning and casually walking back over to the group of human news stations, he must have another interview to conduct.

 

“C'mon Papyrus we're still royal guards remember? We got royalty to guard!” Undyne laughed with a broad smirk, grabbing the lanky skeleton before dragging him off to which he waved his goodbye's to you and Alphys trotted up behind them as they followed after Asgore.

 

“.. bone-thirty?” you smirked to Sans, lifting an eyebrow.

He chuckled deeply within his chest, pulling you close as he snaked his arm around your waist, “i did say we had plans.. remember?” he cooed, sending a shiver down your spine as you set your hands on his shoulders.

 

“Oh I wonder what bone-thirty could mean..? Hmn. Guess I'll find out, huh?” you snickered, his smirk only grew as his eyelids drooped a bit.

“yeah. guess so,” with that you both were flung back into the void. You made sure to not blink and as you kept your eyes on Sans you saw his black jacket whipping around his neck vertebra as his left eye flared in a brilliant blue, yellow flashing throughout it as g-forces pulled at your gut and made your head spin. That same static from earlier pressed into your head, it was louder, desperate even and as you struggled to focus on it you could have sworn you saw two white hands reaching from behind Sans towards you. You gasped as you suddenly appeared in the hallway, the hands gone.

 

“hmmn..? hey, you okay?” Sans murmured, his lustful stare turning into concern as you looked around behind him with wide eyes. You could hear the shower going in your bathroom, replacing the sounds of static that were cut off as soon as you left the void.

 

“I.. I thought I saw something..” you shook your head, bringing a hand up to your face.

 

“well that's the first time you kept your eyes open, babe..” he chuckled, running a hand up your spine and between your shoulder blades as he held onto you.

 

“Y-yeah..” you rubbed at your eyes before blinking back at him, realization hitting you as the sounds of rushing water filled the apartment “Whhy is the shower going..?”

 

“about that..” he narrowed his eyes mischievously, back pedaling and drug you along with him. He led you to the entrance to the bathroom which was only illuminated by a few candles on the counter, their gentle light flickered and licked up the walls as his cold fingers slipped up under your dirty tank top. You squealed at his cold touch, sending goosebumps over your skin as his hands caressed over your sides while lifting the tank top up over your head and tossed it rather harshly to the ground. He spun slightly on his heel and walked you backwards into the room as you were met with a soft cloud of steam. The scent of daisies flooded your senses as you found yourself standing in the dark room with Sans holding onto you.

“S-sans you did all this..?” you blinked rapidly, looking around the room before being caught by an unsuspecting blue light. You focused back on him as his jaws pulled apart, his tongue forming inside of his maw which gave off a steady blue glow. He swiped his tongue over his canines while hungrily staring into your eyes, feeling over the sharp edges intimately. His hands were all over you, gripping onto your back to keep you close while the other trailed his fingertips down your bare sides to your pants. You huffed, swatting the hand away which he only responded to by grabbing onto your ass. A light growl rumbled in his chest as he leaned into you.

“shhh, it's just you and i now..” he purred, leaning in towards your neck with a deep exhale. His hot breath struck against your sensitive skin, causing you to tense up and grip onto his hoodie. He flicked his cool tongue up along the base of your neck just as a knocking on the door rang out across the apartment, he huffed in annoyance and waited for a moment, listening. You pushed at his shoulders and laughed.

 “You were saying?” you snorted to which he rolled his eyes and snarled, drawing you tightly to him as he sunk his fangs into the side of your neck in a possessive bite. You gasped, eyelids fluttering as his growls traveled through your flesh. Another rap of knocks at the door caused him to sigh even harder the second time, slowly pulling his jaws from your neck and licked over his teeth as he gazed at you through a half lidded stare.

“you were saying..?” he teased, his mouth tugging into a smirk as he watched a blush play over your cheeks. He took a few steps back before fully turning and lightly closed the door behind him which just swung on the hinges and left it open a crack. You padded over, grabbing the handle and listened. You couldn't make out what was being said over the sound of the running water but could tell it was Toriel, as you strained to listen you eventually just gave up as the conversation left out into the hallway with the door shutting behind them.

You pressed the bathroom door shut with a click and looked back into the room, it was really thoughtful of sans to set all of this up. You wouldn't waste it as you needed to shower anyways, the soil you had been toiling through left your skin stained and itchy. You quickly got undressed and tested the water with your hand, only having to slightly turn it down before stepping in. The hot water cascaded over your sore form, the heavenly aroma of flowers paired with the mood lighting was beyond relaxing. You stood in a semi-meditative state for a few moments, eyes closed beneath the current.

As you relaxed a soft fizzling noise tickled at your mind, you didn't notice it right away at first but as time drug on it became more prominent as you quickly opened you eyes to look around. The sound had stopped.

 

“What the hell..?” you murmur, deciding to quickly finish up. The rest of your shower went undisturbed and as you stepped out you realized you had no change of clothes. You wrapped the towel around your body, sighed and went to the door to open it a crack and listened. You didn't hear anything. You tentatively stepped out from the bathroom and went to your bedroom, having to turn on the light and picked out a lazy outfit of sweats and a baggy t-shirt.

By the time you were dressed Sans still hadn't come back, you frowned before stepping down the hallway and made a pit stop to blow out the candles still burning in the bathroom before looking around the living room. You only found Chip who was lounging on the futon. Your frown deepened as you then made your way to the front door and peered through the eye hole, you couldn't see anyone but heard voices.

 

“kid. you aren't going to find anything there..” Sans sounded irritated, there was a long pause before he spoke up again, “what's this-” he suddenly stopped talking. You felt the air prickle with magical energy and you swallowed dryly, gripping onto the door handle. Ever so slowly you began turning it before pushing the door open to find Sans standing in the hallway with his back to the door.

“i'm not sure how you saw him.. but don't ever go looking for him again. he won't help you.” you carefully stepped into the hallway, clearing your throat to alert Sans to which he jumped at before looking over his shoulder at you. Clutched in his hand was a piece of printer paper, an odd black creature scribbled on it. It was mainly a black blob with a white face, black eye sockets with cracks from both eyes. You immediately recognized it and froze. Frisk waved their hand up to get your attention and you shook off the unsettled feeling in your limbs as you moved up beside Sans and crouched down to get eye level with the child. They had Flowey on their back in the backpack and he studied you with his neutral smile before speaking up.

 

“Just the person we wanted to see..” Flowey began, you couldn't help but cringe at hearing his voice, “That idiot scientist wont ever finish a soul for me in time. But we know of one monster who knew soul magic like no one else ever has.”

 

“no” Sans stated, glaring down to the flower who ignored him as he leaned further across Frisks' shoulder towards you. The child looked determined.

 

“Bone bag doesn't think we should go back to the underground to fix my current state, he just wants to see me suffer” he hissed, his mouth twisting into a crazed snarl, “After all the good I did..”

 

“Well you haven't been very nice, or _good_ , at all Flowey.” you stated flatly, watching him return to his normal happy smile while Frisk began signing something quickly. You couldn't understand them, sighing you tried to placate them, “Whoa whoa.. okay, slow down. What's going on?”

 

“We want to find the first royal scientist, WD Gaster.” Flowey hummed, the name struck you with a light static tickling the back of your mind.

 

“he's dead,” Sans murmured, his stance was tense as he locked up.

 

You gently spoke down to both Frisk and Flowey, you didn't trust the flower but you had confidence in Frisk, “How can you find someone who isn't.. here anymore?”

 

“Frisk has seen him. Numerous times in fact!” Flowey boasted, you could hear the paper in Sans' hand crunching up.

 

“that's why you kept resetting..?” he asked.

Frisk frowned and nodded slowly. This was impossible, this man was supposed to be dead. Sans had told you himself. This was seriously Frisk's plan? To get help from the previous royal scientist?

 

“you can't help him and he can't help you. leave it alone, kid.” Sans was practically growling.

 

Frisk stubbornly shook their head, folding their arms tightly against their chest as Flowey began to laugh before chiming in, “I remember how he used to be, the off chance I saw him talk to Asgore, he was intently curious in his own.. intimidating sort of way. He could cure me with enough time.”

 

“with proper payment-” He took in a slow breath, drawing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose right between his eye sockets, “..if you try to go I will stop you.”

Frisk flung their arms open as they signed erratically, taking a step forward towards Sans as he drew his hand away from his face and crumbled the piece of paper into a ball, “you can't convince me otherwise on this, kiddo. we stick to the original plan, and if it doesn't work .. well.. it was a good effort. whatever happens to you-” he glared down to Flowey, “i couldn't care less about. but you wont lead frisk into a bad situation for your own benefit.”

 

“Wait.. hold up, why is this a bad plan?” you look up to Sans, his eye sockets were black as he turned his head to look at you, “If Flowey gets his soul back.. he would go back to being Asriel right? Toriel and Asgore would have their son back. And Gaster..” Sans flinched, “He's your dad right..? Frisk could possibly help him somehow if he's trapped somewhere.. Isn't that worth a shot?”

Sans just stared at you, his sockets pure black pits.

Frisks hand signing drew your attention back to the child, they looked desperate to make their point across but you couldn't understand sign language so Flowey did the honors, “Frisk is saying they know exactly where to look. They say he showed them in a dream, the waterfal-”

 

“what. frisk. you can't be serious-” the child snapped their head up to Sans and continued to sign wildly, beads of sweat building up on his skull, “kid.. kid.. you don't know what you're talking about.”

Flowey spoke up in a sing song voice towards you as Frisk continued to sign, “He just needs help. He's trapped and we can save them both,” the flower began to chuckle as Sans' jaw clenched, “We just need to find the door.”

 

“no,” he stated firmly,”it's too dangerous.” Frisk gasped and then growled, gripping onto the sides of their head with their tiny hands in frustration as they looked to you for help.

You decided to take Sans side on this, for some reason that name.. WD Gaster, it left a bitter taste in your mouth, “Let's see if Alphys can do it. We still have the rest of the week in front of us, okay? There's no rush..”

Frisk looked like they were about to cry, it broke your heart and as you tried to speak up Frisk ran down the hallway to the stairs but suddenly were snagged by a force that drew them back. You blinked wildly and watched as Frisk struggled and tried to burst forward again to only be taken back, over and over again. You looked up to Sans who had his hand out, a soft glow emanating along his hand as he drug the child's soul back with each attempt to reach the stairs.

You slowly stood back up straight as Frisk fought against their soul, Flowey found it oddly entertaining as he was laughing. The commotion drew your neighbor's door to open, Toriel stepping into the hall.

 

“Oh my.. I guess your talk didn't help either did it..?” she sighed.

 

“nope,” he was bringing the child farther back down the hall towards the three of you with each attempt. They didn't give up the fight at first, pressing Sans' patience with each step they took but eventually they fell on their backside. Frisk hit the wood hard, panting with their arms supporting their body as Flowey swayed in the back pack.

 

“Frisk really seems so sure of the plan though...” you were met with stares from both Sans and Toriel, you confidently met their gaze at your soul pulsed with purpose, “They obviously feel guilty about people getting hurt, it could be a way to stop all of it.. for Flowey to atone for all he's done..”

 

“no,” Sans repeated as he slowly dragged the child across the floor to which they just laid on their back in silent defeat, Flowey grunted as he was laid on but didn't seem to mind as he found much enjoyment in all the action.

 

“Mt. Ebott is so far away my child.. Frisk could really get hurt going back, and this man they see in their dreams.. I do not think he even exists.” Toriel spoke softly, stepping further into the hall to crouch down to Frisk as they slid to halt before their care taker. An annoyed glare was stricken over their facial features.

The light hovering across Sans' digits slowly dissipated before he tucked the hand back into his borrowed jacket, watching as Toriel carefully picked Frisk up in their arms and cradled them as she murmured, “We can have a good life here, my child. Do not try to go back to the mountain..”

 

“If Frisk is having dreams about him maybe it's a call for help?” you bit your lip nervously as Sans shook his head. Toriel looked solemnly at you.

 

“These dreams are more like nightmares.. “ she murmured, “for the past few weeks Frisk wakes up in the middle of the night, sweating and looking ill. They just keep coming like clockwork and even though they tell me what happens, what this person looks like.. it hurts my head trying to stay focused on it. There must be magic involved.. and I don't like it.”

Sans turned his attention back to you, “heh. frisk has never been one for patience. things will work out for the better this way, no matter what.”

You looked past him to Toriel, Frisk looked deeply upset. They were holding onto Toriel's dress but seemed to have the life drained from them while Flowey rested his head on their shoulder and winked at you. You tried to think of something to say, anything to say to the child but you couldn't think straight. Your thoughts felt.. fuzzy and far away.

 

“All right, thank you for trying Sans.. I'm sure some tea and pie will help settle this little adventurer.” the woman pulled off a confident smile as she turned to step back into her flat.

 

“no worries tori, i'll keep an _eye socket_ out for ya,” he winked as Toriel began to laugh maybe a bit too heavily before saying goodnight and shut the door behind her. The door seemed to be so intricate.. You couldn't pull away as the color started to drain from the wood and became gray before your very eyes, a light static filling your ears as soft whispers filled the hall urging you to step forward.

 _'we just have to find the door'_ Flowey's words repeated in your mind, slow and oddly warbled.

 Sans was watching you during this, you continued to just stare even as he walked up and cleared his throat. You had some deep urge to reach out for the door but before your feet could move bony fingers snapped in front of your face loudly, you jumped and drew in a deep breath as you whipped your head over to look at Sans. The haze was broken in almost an instant as the world was once again colorful and the whispers had all been cut off.

 

“.. you all right there, little lady?” he asked, concern lacing in his voice.

 

“Y-yeah.. sorry I guess that shower was a bit too relaxing,” you laughed to yourself, he didn't find it funny.

 

“.. you hearing things?” you blinked at his question, for some reason the acknowledgment wouldn't leave your lips. You had to force them out with the help of your soul, you could feel it beating.

 

“I think..? Maybe I'm just really tired or something but I kind of hear.. crackling.. like static? But only when it's really quiet.” This all sounded so weird, you smiled sheepishly as you drew a hand up and set it on the back of your neck, “That sounds crazy, huh?”

Sans moved his hand, resting it on your lower back as he guided you back into the apartment and shut the door behind the both of you. He walked you down the hall as he spoke up, “nah, just let me know if it get's worse all right?”

 

“Y-yeah. The past few days have been really hectic,” you sighed as you stepped into the room. You did feel exhausted, between the drama of yesterday and the hard labor of today you were ready to lay down and relax. Sans must have been reading your mind as he shut off the light and pulled you into his arms, spinning the both of you around so your back was to the hall and his to the bed.

 

You couldn't suppress your giggles as he dug his fingers into your back, grinning to you with his voice hushed, “need some stress relief..?”

 

You felt flush as you saw his brow ridge wriggle deviously, you murmured quietly to match his tone “Maybe.. that shower was really nice though, Sans.. Thank you.. even though you didn't get to enjoy it with me.”

 

You wiggled your eyebrows in return, teasing him to which he gave a hearty chuckle, “it's not all wasted.. got plenty of hot wax..” a deep flush spread across your face at his suggestion.

 

“heh,” he studied you before hitching his grin into a smirk, “hey, i've got an idea..”

 

“Sans you better not-” you squeak as he suddenly grabbed a hold of your waist. You felt his fingers snag onto your shirt as he pulled you close and started to back pedal to the bed, dragging you with him. It didn't take long for the backs of his legs to hit the mattress and he took you with him onto the sheets, you squealed as he rolled you both over the bed and came resting on your sides face to face. You couldn't help but to just laugh, he watched you sleepily before you tilted you head up to plant a kiss on his bony cheek.

 

“You're so weird..” you murmur, he just chuckles and lounges out on his back, tucking you against his side as his eyes closed.

 

“i'm weird?” he feigned insult, “i'm not the only one thinkin' of kinky shit,” he muttered, his grin spreading as you gasp and playfully growl.

You'd show him kinky. Slinking up onto your hands and knees you leaned down over him but his eyes remained closed. You wouldn't fall for his pretend sleeping, gently dropping your head you planted soft kisses on the side of his face before trailing down along his jaw and neck. You drew a soft purring from him but before you could continue a slight snore jolted you away from him as you glared down to the skeleton. He was literally asleep. Seriously? That fast?

 

“Oh you've got to be kidding me..” you murmur, gently trying to shake him, “Sans..?”

He only muttered before his breathing returned to it's deep, slow rise and fall. You watched him for a moment, your disappointment fading as a smile crossed your lips. He hadn't even done anything all day.. maybe it was the magic use? You carefully slid back into his arm, placing your hand on his chest with your head on his padded shoulder. As you nestled in he drew his hand up to grip at your body and pulled you tighter. Of course he was a clingy sleeper. You smiled as his head turned towards you, breathing in deeply and murmured something inaudible before falling still.

 

“Goodnight, Sans.” you whisper, not far behind him as sleep welcomed you quickly.

Perhaps too quickly.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh.  
> I smell a new character coming into play.


	21. One More Soul to Call (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're hearing things, seeing things and now.. dreaming things?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More smutty smut ahead for all you sinners, yeeey

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

A lone, black metronome painted solemnly against a white back drop.

_Tick.. tock... tick-_

The needle began to slow, it's hand seeming to catch on something before jumping slightly to the other side. A slight fluttering tearing the edges of the device, distorting and pulling.

_**Tt** -s **ss** k.. **sk** k. _

The needle began to twitch violently, glitching as black moths began to shift and crawl out from it's cold surface. The creatures were slow to disperse, the device melting into a pool of writhing, squirming insects.

“How interesting..” a static filled voice permeated the darkness, cool and intelligent.

The pile scattered into sudden burst of movement, a cloud of black moths twisting in the air as they seemed to move as one. The sound of odd crunching, chirping and fluttering deafened you as the voice poured through your mind like heavy cream.

 “very.. interesting,” the voice hummed before the insects lurched towards you, suffocating the light from your vision as they engulfed you in darkness.

 

You gasped, air filling your lungs as you flung your eyes open and darted your attention around the room. It must have been in the middle of the night as you were only met with dark shapes, illuminated by a soft golden light that hovered in front of you. It was your soul. You were panting, sweat trailing down your clammy skin as you watched the bright yellow heart float inches from your chest. You felt like someone was watching you.

Timidly you turned to look at the shape beside you, Sans was still asleep. You noticed he didn't move much and must have been a heavy sleeper as your harsh jerking hadn't even phased him. You slowly drew your hand up and touched at your face, gulping down air as you tried to breathe deeply. Tried to calm down. It took a few moments to quell your racing heart which your soul matched in soft pulsations, your face was flushed with beads of sweat built up on your forehead. You don't know why such a short dream shook you as hard as it did, but it felt so vivid..

You shuddered, quickly glancing down at your arms which were insect free but it didn't stop you from running your hands over them anyways under the soft golden light of your soul. Gaining the courage to look around once more you did, your eyes having adjusted fully to the darkness and while you still felt some presence bearing down onto you the room was normal. Those blurry shapes were now in focus, just various items strewn around.

“Hnn..” you bit at your bottom lip, looking back to Sans and wondered if you should wake him up. No.. that was silly. It was just a dream, there was nothing to be scared of. You sighed heavily, rubbing at your eyes as you slunk off the side of the bed and meandered to the kitchen. You weren't really sure why your soul was out, floating in front of you, but you didn't know how to call it back in either. It worked as a sort of night light as you traversed the hall and stepped around the counter to get to the sink.

“I'm just losing my damn mind with all this stress..” you tried to smile, plucking a cup out of the cupboard before filling it up with water from the tap. You drank greedily, needing to run the faucet and drink another full glass before your throat was satisfied. You watched the water for a moment before setting the glass down to cup your hands under the cool water and leaned down to splash it over your face. You did this a few times before turning the faucet off and stood, reaching for a nearby rag to pat your skin dry. You felt a little better.

As you turned a dark, quick movement caught your eye and you immediately gasped. Shoving back against the counter as your eyes trained on a moth fluttering around the living room. You stood in shock before slowly letting out a breath and felt increasingly stupid, what was it going to do? Rob you? You watched it flutter around before Chip suddenly darted from behind the couch and jumped for it, striking it onto the floor. Your heart skips a beat which in turn visibly rattles your soul, instantly feeling bad for the little creature.

You hurry on over to the living room, shooing away your cat as you crouch down and look for the little night butterfly, “Sorry little guy.. oh shit where'd you go..? I don't think you wanna be a midnight snack...”

Your murmurings calm you down, almost being able to laugh at the silly situation as you stare at the carpet. Almost about to give up and blame Chip for running off with the bug in his mouth you spot a hint of movement on your right hand side, the little moth is pure black and flaps it's wings helplessly on the floor. One of it's wings looks a bit torn, you frown as you carefully scoop the creature up into your hands and stand up before heading over to the window. Your soul following your every movement just above your sternum.

“Not sure how you got in here little guy..” you murmur, it just sits in your hand delicately as you open the blinds a tad and push the window open. A cool night breeze caresses over your skin as you try sticking your hand out the window and waited for it to fly away.. but it doesn't.

“Go on.. shoo..” you scrunch your brow as you try rotating your hand but it clings to you while upside down. Well this was weird.

“Come on.. I'm flattered but seriously go home, you can't stay here..” you lightly giggle as you lean against the windowsill and watch it crawl back up onto the back of your hand. It's wings slowly fanning as it moved. You chewed at the inside of your cheek and waited, your soul illuminating the creature in a golden glow. The damage to the one wing more visible as Chip's claws must have torn it up, you hoped that it was okay to fly but maybe shock was preventing it from realizing it was back outside.

“Okay.. well.. if you can pay rent I guess you can come in,” you chuckle as it wiggles it's fluffy antennae towards you, “You can be my buddy too I guess.. Don't know why you freaked me out in my dream back there.. you're pretty cute.”

You rotated your hand as it made it's way over your fingers timidly, you waited in anticipation for it to take off but it was stubborn. You tried to flick your wrist gently to shake the creature but it clung on tightly, it's wings fluttering at the motion and you sighed before drawing it back to you. The fluffy bug turned around so it was facing you as you brought it up a littler closer, trying to examine it. You figured it was just entranced by the light coming from your soul as you watched it's wings twitch.

“Awe.. little guy you must have gotten really shaken. Well, I am too I guess.. Nightmares..” you felt the words rolling from your mouth before you could stop yourself, leaning into the open window while on your elbows as you murmured to the little creature, “I haven't had a nightmare in like.. years.”

You felt a light tugging at your soul but didn't take much notice of it, it was probably just trying to sink back in but you still felt wired and paranoid. Talking it through with your new friend seemed like a better idea than waking up Sans, the more you spoke the less tense you became, “I used to listen to music if I ever woke up in the night.. do you like music?”

You smiled as it lessened it's movements, seeming to be listening as you continued, “Hmn. There's this one song that always helps me relax.. since I was a little girl it was my favorite song. Although recently Jenny, my friend from work, showed me a new version from her favorite singer famously titled 'Lana Del Rey'“ Your smile grew as you remembered the memory, softly beginning to hum as your body finally began to unwind to which your soul began to shed soft embers of light entwined in a breeze that brushed past you and into the apartment.

“ _I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream  
I know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam_ ,” the moth twitched but remained poised upon your hand, lightly tickling your skin as it meandered to your wrist as if fixated on your soft singing.

“ _And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem_  
_But if I know you, I know what you'll do_  
 _You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream..”_ you sighed softly, your eyelids drooping as you brought your free hand up to rest your chin on as you watched the moth, “It's from that movie.. Sleeping Beauty. Heh.. I used to think as a kid that some prince would come and.. Sweep me off my feet and away from all the bullshit fighting my parents constantly had. Well, from any hard problems in my life actually..”

 It felt weird to gush to this insect, you lazily blinked at it before continuing, “I would seriously just hope that one day.. I'd wake up to my own 'Prince Charming'. Wake up to true loves kiss, silly isn't it?”

The moth just fluttered it's wings, testing the air to which you giggled at, “Feeling better? All right little guy, give it another try.. I'll catch you if you fall.”

You hadn't spoken to anyone about that, though it wasn't like the moth would remember. It felt.. nice to vent. The moth continued to flutter, your soul shivering at it's quirky movements. The black fluffy creature managed to hover over your hand, you kept your eyes on it as it wavered through the air and you giggled as it stabilized, “Okay little guy, nice chat.. drop by anytime.”

You waited to watch it fly off but it never did, it fluttered through the air above your hand, over your wrist as if it wanted to go back inside the room. You playfully narrowed your eyes, “By anytime I didn't mean right now..”

You waved your hand gently at the little insect, the light breeze pushing it back outside to where it hung for a moment then flittered off into the sky. You watched it go under the moonlight, quickly losing it's dark shape amongst the shadows. Your soul gave off a soft flash of light before fading and sinking back into your chest, you murmured “Hmn.. guess I was just really freaked out.. Adrenaline maybe?”

You'd have to talk to someone about controlling your soul, you weren't sure what implications it could have if you got upset at work and it burst out. You laughed lightly at the thought of freaking out everyone at the office, Jenny would think it would be awesome and Robert would probably just shit himself. Your eyes narrowed as you smirked, Robert probably quit after that incident in Grillby's and while you wanted to feel bad for hurting someone you just.. couldn't. He deserved it.

You could hear Chip chirping and running around the living room, hyper as can be. It must have been about three in the morning by now but you were too awake to try going back to bed so you just watched the moon, trying to pick out the stars which were faded against the pollution of the cities sky. You heard a soft mumbling directly behind you as lanky, cold fingers slid over your waist and wrapped around your stomach. Sans leaned over top of you, pressing his jaw into the side of your face in a slight nuzzle.

“what are you doin'..?” he sounded sleepy, his words slurred.

“Oh, I had a bad dream.. I got some water and found Chip trying to eat a little moth so I let him go outside.” you murmured, tilting your head back into him as he affectionately ran the front of his teeth against your neck.

“him?” he questioned, his grin tugging into a smirk.

You smiled sheepishly, “I dunno I guess it just popped into my head.”

He hummed lightly, letting out a deep breath against your skin which was oddly hot, “come back to bed.”

“I'm not really tired..” you sighed, you had work in the morning too.

“me either..” he growled, a shiver ran down your spine as he pressed forward, his hipbones grinding up against your ass.

His motions sent a harsh shudder down your back, a smirk tugging at your lips. You braced yourself against the windowsill and rocked your hips back against him in a deep roll while you peered over your shoulder where Sans had pressed the front of his teeth into, you could feel them start to indent and change as he locked his eyes onto your own. Just as your eyes met his white pupils dilated, a soft growl rumbling in his chest that pressed into your back as he let his weight drape over you. You purr lowly to him in return, a bit of stress relief could put you back to sleep. You friskily snap your teeth to him, audibly clacking your jaws shut which made his eyes only narrow.

He breathed out heavily across your neck, “act like a bitch, get fucked like a bitch..”

Your skin flared up at his words, a light tremble rolling through your body. You couldn't ignore the heat between your legs starting to form as he kept his arms wrapped tightly around your midsection. You regained your smirk, pulling your lips into a playful snarl as you bared your canines to him which triggered an animalistic sneer from him. In an instant you were pulled through the void, the dizzying experience left you dazed as you found yourself being shoved down into the bed on your hands and knees.

Oh, that wasn't fair play. You snorted and tried to kick a leg out to push back against him but he just forced himself further against your backside, the tight grip around your waist kept your ass hoisted in the air but another hand shoved up under your shirt. The cold, hard bones of his hand landed in between your shoulder blades and pinned you down against the sheets with a hard shove. His rough handling sent you into soft pants, gripping the sheets tightly as you felt that familiar bulge press up against your ass in a dominating grind.

A soft moan left your lips, feeling his fingers dig into your back as he gave another roll forward and pressed into you with force. You found your legs spreading further for him as he teased you, an ache forming in the pit of your stomach. He chuckled deeply as he leaned down over you and nipped at your back, you gasped and tried shifting around but he held you firmly. A frustrated growl built up in your throat as he kept you pinned, he had been so dominating you couldn't help but challenge that, to push him.

“mmn got some fight in you..? well.. we'll see about that,” he snickered, lolling his tongue from his jaws as he ran it across your exposed lower back in a long stroke. You shuddered as the cold, gooey tendril snaked it's way across your skin. He roughly slid his hand down from your back and to your pants, hooking them with a finger before tugging both your sweats and panties down to fully expose you. You whimpered as the cool air of the bedroom brushed over your hot, wet folds.

He didn't bother to pull your clothes off more than that, that was all he needed. His hand then went to his own shorts, wrangling them down just enough to free his drooling cock and press it against you. He shuddered, lightly moaning at your slick entrance as he teased the tip of his shaft along you. His own slick magic caressed and coated your sex in a cold, tingling lubricant. You let out a moan, tearing at the sheets as you tried to pull your hips away from him but he only drew you back with a hard jerk which buried the head of his shaft inside of your tight walls.

You let out a squeak as he withdrew from you before burying back in with a lewd popping noise, enjoying as your body squirmed and clenched at him. You shivered at the odd tingling, cooling sensation his magic left behind. With a snarl you shoved your hands into the sheets and brought your chest off of the mattress, arching your back as you attempted to roll and pull your hips away from him. He was already moving so fast for your tastes.

“where do you think you're goin'..? training ain't over,” he growled before flinging his hand up into your hair, gripping deep down to your skull before pulling your head back. You felt his rib cage dig into your back as he leaned over you and shoved himself further inside, burying a good half of his shaft into your tight, sopping pussy with a tender groan.

Managing to bite back your moans didn't stop your body from shivering in pleasure, your heart starting to race as his breath beat against the back of your neck. You felt his girthy cock tug at your walls as he pulled back to only thrust further in, keeping this pace until he fully hilted himself with grunt. The pressure against your cervix and burning soreness from his forceful act was uncomfortable but the pain roused the more bratty side of you as you let out a growl, trying to look at him over your shoulder and bucked back against him to try to loosen his grip.

With his fangs bared and jaws parting he released your hair, trailing his fingertips across your neck in an affectionate stroke. You shivered under his touch but didn't pause as you lurched forward and pulled a good portion of him back out of you, he didn't chase you this time as instead his fingers curled around your throat gently at first before you were met with his right eye going black and the left flared a magnificent blue. Just as you saw it your chest slammed into the mattress as he lunged down after you, ramming into your cervix forcefully as his grip tightened and constricted the sides of your throat just beneath your jawline.

You let out a gasping cry as your legs began to tremble, he basked in the moment of your weakening legs and light whimpers while sliding his slick gooey tongue up along your flushed back and to your shoulder. You tried to fight against him, wriggling and panting through his grip but your soul was firmly placed into the sheets and you couldn't free yourself from the heavy weight within you. If anything your struggles excited him more, his grip tightening as he pulled from you to only thrust back in with a gruff grunt that thudded against the side of your face.

It wasn't long before he was vigorously driving into you, his hipbones digging into your ass painfully as he dominated himself over you. Sweat began building along your back as he led you captive, the tight grip on your neck sent your vision to begin spotting and as your body began to weaken he eased off. Coughing and panting he merely chuckled into your shoulder, watching you as he kept his steady rhythm. With each thrust there was a sickly sweet icy twinge that dribbled down your thighs, it was as if he was running bits of ice down along your skin.

The harsh cold made your body tighter, much more tense which he couldn't keep himself from indulging in as he shoved roughly to hilt himself and ground his hips into you in a sharp rocking. You could feel every inch of him pulling, rubbing and coaxing your walls to shudder with your approaching climax. You began to pant heavily, your skin feeling so hot against his contrasting magic while your body responded and pressed back into him.

You were so close now, shaking and whimpering as he stopped his motions suddenly, “Mnnr.. p-please..” you begged, you could feel that deep inner itch being staved off and it irritated you.

“nah, you've been bad.. you don't get to cum..” his breath was hot against your neck before his fangs drove into your soft flesh, pressing all of his weight above you to hold you still. No amount of struggling could give you the pleasure you needed to get any farther, your tense heat slowly ebbing away as you snarled and cried out his name angrily.

A deep laughter rolled through his chest, reverberating down against your body through his teeth as he kept you still but as your thrashings continued his fingers viced around your throat once more causing you to choke and gasp. He waited for you to settle down before lightly grinding back against you, a hard shudder running through your spine as he stimulated you ever so slightly.

Slowly drawing his teeth from your shoulder he ran his slick tongue across the bite marks, murmuring, “but maybe.. if you show me what a good pet you are i'll allow it.”

 A shiver danced across your skin, raising goosebumps at his words. You had been so close you could hardly even think straight, he slowly loosened his grip on your neck as he withdrew his throbbing cock from you and tugged your pants back up roughly. You whimpered at the emptiness, his magic left your loins rather cold and quickened the process of coming down from your build up. Hot and bothered was a mild way to put it. You turned to look at him as he pulled himself up from you, using his hand to direct your soul as he guided you off of the bed and to the floor on your knees as he positioned himself in front of you.

Your eyes immediately caught onto his glowing, dripping shaft as you sat between his knees. He swiped the hair from your face before cupping your chin and lifted your head up to look at him. His fangs illuminated by his twisting, slick tongue as they swiped across his large smirk before speaking.

“be a good bitch and show me how much you want it..”

Your eyes dropped back down to his awaiting cock, a twisting knot forming in your stomach as you were unsure of being able to even fit him in your mouth. Tentatively you raised your hands and set one on his waist while the other gripped the base of him, your lips brushing across him curiously. He leaned back on one hand while the other stayed raised, holding your soul tightly in place as you opened your mouth and licked across him in one long drag. You could taste the odd salty flavor of your own juices but his were equally as interesting, he was so cold and dripping like a popsicle though he had no real taste to his magic.

He shivered as you guided him into your mouth, sliding your tongue along him but your slow actions weren't enough for him. With a twitch of his fingers you felt your soul throw your body against the side of the bed, his cock slipping past your lips and dug into the back of your throat. You just managed to suppress your gag reflex as his fingers wove into your hair and held the back of your head. His cock was squishy, much like a soft silicone, but it dripped with magic. You scrambled to swallow the sticky substance, coating your throat in a familiar cooling tingle. Attempting to pull away only resulted in him bringing you back down, his fingertips digging into the back of your head as he let out a raspy breath. You huffed against him, matching his pace to begin bobbing your head along him on your own. He eased his grip on you but kept his fingers tangled in your hair as your tongue swirled against him.

Every time you thought about teasing him, thought about slowing down, he would have none of it. He only forced your head back to him to ram his swelling cock back into your throat and eventually you learned to stop trying to irritate him to avoid a bruised and battered airway. His harsh punishments for you only started to build your arousal as his own hips began to lightly pump into your mouth. You felt along the underside of his cock as you suckled on him heavily, swallowing down excess drippings but most of them dribbled down your lips and chin.

He gave a tense groan, his fingertips clutching the back of your skull once more as he quickened his pace for a few more thrusts before shoving you down heavily on his cock. You gagged, trying to pull away but he held you firmly as his shaft pulsed and spilled his thick, heavy seed down your throat to which you had no choice but to swallow. Tears pricked at your eyes as it was hard to breath through his climax, the juices left a sparking trail of a cold coating that traveled all across your mouth, throat and into the pit of your stomach.

Loosening his grip on both your soul and hair you finally pulled away, his cock popping lewdly from your lips as you gasped for air and wiped at your mouth with the back of your hand. Panting loudly you heard him sigh in satisfaction, his fingers slipping back under your chin to pull your face up to meet his. His eyes were drooped, yet his grin only all the wider as he sat up fully and lifted his other hand to pull your soul upward to stand you on your feet.

You felt covered in his magic, your legs wobbling as you tried to stand on your own and panted down at him heavily. You kept your thighs tightly pressed together, your arousal was burning all the hotter in spite of his chilly magic coating your sensitive folds. He reached his hands up for you and slid his fingers back into the waist band of your sweats, being sure to also snag your panties as he pulled them down. As the fabric hit your ankles you lightly stepped out of them, your skin blazing with craving as your panting only sped up at the thought of your reward. He then guided you to straddle his waist before slipping his hands up to snag your shirt and pulled it off of you before tossing it aside.

You kept yourself up straight on your knees, lightly trembling as his hands ran over your back and hips affectionately. He hummed before parting his jaws to lap up at your hot skin, pressing the gooey appendage against your sternum before traveling over to a breast and fondled at a nipple curiously. You gasped, back arching and eyes closing as sparks of ice tickled your flesh. You were so distracted by his licking you hadn't noticed his grip on your hips as he lowered you down onto the head of his cock, pressing eagerly to your hot folds.

Whimpering and wriggling your hips you worked his head inside of you with a pop, the cold sensation of his magic left your walls tighter than before and you could feel them burning with the effort to take him.

“mnn such a tight pussy, let's fix that..” with a growl he gripped onto your waist with one hand, the other lightly leaving your back for his fingers to quickly drop. Your soul felt like a ton of bricks had hit it, your entire body crashing down onto him as you let out a cry. His cock driving straight into your tense body, the burning soreness had almost doubled since earlier and it left you a panting, whimpering mess as drool coated your lips.

He let his hand fall onto your lower back, keeping you steady as he rocked his hips up eagerly to yours. His bones pressed into your soft flesh as he urged you on, it wasn't long until you had begun to take over. Wrapping your fingers tightly against his shoulders you began to pick up and drive your hips down against him, riding him in long drives that pulled further moans and higher pitched whimpers from your throat.

“that's a good girl..” he purred, looking up into your dazed, flushed face as you bounced on his lap, “cum for me..”

You shivered harshly, it traveling down your spine in retching wave as you bucked. His cock hit all the right places, crashing and grinding against your sweet spot before ramming up into the back of you. All the pain, the tightness, the heat building on your skin urged your hips to keep at it. You could feel that tight itch growing with each thrust and even Sans began to pant, digging his fingertips into your skin to leave behind bright red marks the closer and closer you became.

With a few final, greedy rocks you saw stars as a wave of pleasure shot through your body and into your very quivering soul. You ducked down, biting onto the hard bones of his shoulders to suppress your screams as your sensitive womanhood was pushed over the edge. Sans kept rocking your hips for you, allowing you to ride out your orgasm as he let out a guttural snarl of his own into your chest. You could feel him pouring into you, the excess fluids squelching from your folds to dribble down and coat the both of you.

His icy essence stained your walls, lightly sparking against your quivering and abused body. You eventually let go of him with a laden sigh, your teeth throbbing from the hard surface as you panted laboredly and went limp in his arms. He held you for a few moments as you both came down from ecstasy, basking in the afterglow. You could feel his magic waning before he lifted you off of his cock, you shuddered from the feeling before he drug the both of you further onto the bed and laid you down on your side to face him. He wrapped his arms around your quivering body and chuckled as he caught his breath.

“you all right..?” he carefully ran his fingertips across your face, smiling widely to you as you shuddered and flicked your eyes open to look at him.

You smiled through your panting, only being able to nod as your entire body was still sparking in stimulation. He laughed softly once more before drawing you close to his chest, his rib must have been feeling better for even as you wrapped an arm around his side and clung to him he didn't make a sound. The heavy sheet of sleep enveloped you before you could try to say a word, the residual tingle of his magic lulling you into unconsciousness.

 

***

 

The light sleep you got was just enough, you were a mess and felt sticky but it was all right with you. You stretched out in Sans' tight embrace in the rising sunlight to which he just grumbled and held you closer. You sighed, giggling as you managed to rotate away from him so he was spooning you as you reached out for your phone and snatched it up from the nightstand. Your body felt sore, yet it also invigorated you. Checking the time only made your smile grow, you had about an hour and half before you had to leave so you could relax a tad more. You quickly checked through your emails as Sans stirred behind you, squeezing you tightly as a yawn drew from his chest. He loosened his grip afterwards and leaned forward to peer over your neck at what you were doing.

An email from your boss was pulled up on your phone, Allison never was one for long messages and this was no different.

_'I received an email from Robert the other day, I don't know what his deal is with your relationship but please disregard it. I really don't care who you are in a relationship with. You've done nothing wrong and I'll be having a more in-depth chat with him on Thursday._

_\- See you in the morning, Allison'_

You couldn't believe Robert ripped that picture from Sans' phone and tried using it as leverage.. oh wait, you could believe it. Sans found it hilarious as he laughed against your back, “what a prick.”

“Yeah seriously, I hope that video goes viral so he is immortalized for being dunked on..” you mutter, typing a quick friendly response to your boss.

“heh heh.. pretty sure it and all the others are wide spread by now,” he yawned once more, his hot breath bathing the back of your neck.

“O-other videos?” you blinked, getting a smirk from the skeleton.

“yeah. you're pretty popular on the undernet.”

“No way, I don't believe you,” you tapped out of your email and opened up the youtube app on your phone, not really sure what to type in at first. He ran his hands over your naked skin in an affectionate stroke as he thought for a moment.

“not sure if it's on there but it's something like.. 'human bigot gets dunked on' or some shit,” he shrugged. You typed in what he said word for word and hit the search button, your eyes going wide with all the search results that popped up, hundreds of thousands of views on each one. Some looked like the footage from Sans' phone while most others were from various locations in the bar. You decided to click on the one with the second most views as it was from a new angle and rather close, you wondered if one of the dogs had taken it as the video loaded.

You could get a clear view of Grillby in this angle, he was terrifying and your soul shivered as you watched him have your back. His flames were flicking violently, mouth torn in jagged edges as he glared down the three men and even Undyne matched his rage. You turned up the volume just as you crashed your glass into the side of Robert's head and felt Sans laughing behind you as the rest of the scene played out.

“Oh my god.. I was so pissed but did you see Grillby? Holy shit he can be menacing!” you scrolled down through the comments which were surprisingly supportive and scrolled back up to recommended videos. Sans nodded as he took his hand from your side and cupped it around yours, tapping on the next video with his thumb.

“Wha-? Dunked on trap remix? What is this-” you were cut off from the suddenly loud music, rushing to turn the volume back down as you started to hysterically laugh. Someone had edited the video into a collage of really bad memes and bass drops, explosions edited over top of you hitting Robert that would repeat with other outrageous cuts and layovers. You were crying as the video ended, some kid with a bowl haircut being cropped on top of the whole video saying “Wow!” before it ended.

“What the fuck did you just show me oh my god! This only happened a few days ago and someone meme'd it?!” you dropped your phone, wiping at your eyes as you tried to calm your wheezing laughter.

“there's a lot of them actually” he purred, tucking his hand back under you to draw you into him as you rolled back over.

“You've got to be kidding..” you grinned up at him, his eyes half lidded and smile broad.

“it's because of the catch phrase,” he teased.

“Oh. Pft. Yeah. It had _nothing_ to do with how boss I was,” you rolled your eyes, dripping with sarcasm.

A growl rumbled through his ribs as he loomed closer to your face, you just smirked and softly pecked his teeth with a kiss before huffing, “Okay let me go I gotta get ready for work.”

“mmmnn, nah,” he pressed his body over top of yours, wrapping his arms around you tightly while partially laying on you.

You giggled, pushing at his shoulders but he was firmly in place, “Sans oh my hell, get off!”

“wow babe, _again?_ well if you insist,” he freed one of his hand, traveling it into his pants as you gasped and pushed harder at his shoulders with a laugh.

“That's not what I meant you ass!” your laughter only grew louder as he sighed dramatically loud, “C'mon let me go get dressed and we can hang out a bit before I have to leave.”

He finally complied, rolling off of you and onto his back as Chip jumped up onto the bed and meowed rather loudly. You pulled yourself up into a sitting position and whispered through your teeth to draw your cat over to the both of you. Chip scampered on over rather quickly, stepping over Sans to get to you as you scratched under his neck and the side of his face.

“I think someone is getting jealous,” you giggled as Chip began to purr.

“ah he'll get over it,” Sans lightly ran his hand over the feline's back, distracting him away from you as you got up to go get showered and dressed for the day.

The rest of the morning was slow, relaxing and rather.. domestic. You had made breakfast again to which Sans quickly ate just like last time and you two lounged on the couch together, the local news station on going over the park. You loved how beautiful it was and even this early in the morning there were people and monsters alike hanging out in the clearing. When it came time for work Sans offered to drop you off but you were still unsure about the magic laws so denied him, he seemed hesitant to let you go alone but you managed to coerce him otherwise. You both left the apartment and he slunk into Toriel's flat as you made your way downstairs and outside.

The walk to work was gorgeous, the smell of a fresh morning invigorated you as you went. A few monsters even waved to you, you didn't recognize them but waved in return with a smile. You got to the building in no time, strode inside and sat behind the counter at your desk to clock in and begin the daily grind. It was odd being back at work, as if you had been on some magical adventure the past few days in some other world. Well, you suppose that you had been.

Jenny came into the building shortly after you and b-lined straight for your desk, she was gushing about the excitement of the weekend and even began to brag about how she started a conversation with monsters at the park during the rebuild. Her apprehension was totally erased now, it made you proud. She showed you the news articles about the park and even pointed the both of you out in some pictures, you had even caught Sans in one as he was draped in an empty wheelbarrow with Frisk trying to push it. You saved that image on your phone in a heartbeat.

Eventually she did have work to do and you both parted. The day was crawling by, hardly any clients came in and you found the silence unsettling. It made you anxious as you sat there. Chewing at your lip you began to text Sans who passed you jokes and lightly filled you in on the meeting going on, which seemed to be strained. The display with the park was winning over certain delegates while others remained firm on the 'no magic' law. You were disappointed to learn that, but changed the subject back to playing as you tried to scold him for not paying attention but he assured you that he could text as he never got caught.

As Jenny came back into the lobby you jumped at the chance to get out of work and to lunch, you both teased each other like usual as you ate and luckily she did most of the talking. You liked to listen to her, she seemed so full of life and you couldn't help but imagine her soul sending off green flecks of light like your soul did when you felt confident. You both went back to work, finished the day and as you left the building you saw Sans standing outside in a brand new blue jacket, the hood rimmed with a fluffy white faux fur. He swept you into a hug, squeezing you tightly as you laughed and began walking back home hand in hand.

You were starting to wonder how you got by without monsters in your life, how you got by without so many wonderful friends. That night you had dinner at Toriel's, Frisk seemed better and Flowey remained silent which was fine with you. You still weren't sure about Flowey, you just couldn't see what Frisk saw. You showed everyone the picture you had saved on your phone from the article Jenny showed you, Toriel set it as her new home screen on her phone as did Frisk. Toriel then took the lead of filling you in about the meeting, she said it had gone better than the others but it was still a slow process. Humans were just too scared and she could understand that, but she was a patient and kind monster. You just wanted to see everyone treated equally, magic was a part of what a monster is and it bothered you greatly to know it was being labeled as such a bad thing.

She went on to say that Asgore would be making the final appeal, which Papyrus and Undyne were there as well for protection. You remembered how well they fought together against Flowey and were sure that if anyone wanted to hurt the king or anyone else in that building they would have a really hard time getting past them. Though you could imagine the king had equally as much power, he was massive and also wise. Your musings came to an end as Toriel served up her famous butterscotch cinnamon pie which you admit you could drown in and die happy.

 

At the end of the night Sans offered to give Frisk a bedtime story which they beamed at, Flowey cringed but still put on a smile as they ran off towards the back bedroom with Sans slowly meandering on after them. You couldn't help but to laugh at hearing all the raucous at the back of the flat and Toriel giggled as well, you thanked her for the meal before heading back across the hall to your own apartment. You had to feed Chip and straighten up a tad.

As you dusted off the coffee table your vision was drawn to the window, a black moth was hung on the outside of the glass. No way, it must have been a coincidence but your curiosity sent you over to investigate. As you drew closer a soft static tickled your mind, your soul shivering as you got a good glance at it's wings. One of the wings was slightly torn, exactly like the moth from the previous night.

“That is so weird..” but you couldn't help but smile, your face was going to be so sore tomorrow from all this grinning you had been doing. You sat on the arm of the futon and pulled your phone out from your pocket, doing a quick internet search to find out what kind of moth this was. You didn't really know much about insects so you researched briefly on black moths, your results led to multiple interpretations of folklore though most of them were ill omens and embodied death.

You shook that off with a smirk, people were so scared of everything. You read up that the insects like to eat fruit like bananas and it clicked in your head, you had bananas. Jumping up you went to the counter and cut one up halfway, setting the pieces on a small saucer before making your way back to the window just as Sans stepped into the apartment and shut the door behind him.

“heh, what the hell are you doing..?” he raised a brow as you softly knocked on the window, dislodging the moth before opening it and set the plate of fruit on the windowsill.

“My friend came back, it would be rude of me to not offer him something to eat,” you giggled, watching the black moth hover over the plate before landing on a piece of the yellow fruit, it's antennae flickering.

“how do you know it's the same one..?” he strode up beside you casually, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets.

“Lookit his wing..” you carefully pointed down to the creature, being sure to not touch it by accident, “Chip scratched it the other night.”

“heh well it wont go away if you feed it like that..” he turned and sauntered to the couch before plopping down on it, lifting his feet onto the coffee table but you stayed and watched the little moth pick through the fruit.

“That's okay. He's pretty cute.. I think I'll call him Oliver.” you beamed, watching your new found friend indulge in the treat.

“oliver, as in _olive_? You've got to be _pitting_ me,” Sans chuckled, turning the TV on.

“Well he's black and cute like an olive!” your soul shivered, the moth jumped into the air before fluttering back down on a new piece of cut fruit.

“heh. chip seems to like it too,” he smirked, watching the cat step into the living room and meow. You whipped around, your back to the window and glared down to chip.

“No kitty, you can't eat Oliver. He's family!” you chuckled as Chip stared at you, the tip of his tail flicking before he chattered back to you, “Why, of course I still love you Chipper.”

You padded across the carpet to the cat, picking him up carefully so he perched in your arms and lightly scratched at his head as you looked back to Sans who was watching you fondly.

“awe I see how it is..” he murmured, placing a hand over his chest.

You smirked, making your way over to the couch and set Chip down in his lap before softly pressing your lips to Sans' cold forehead. A slight blue hue crawling over his face as you pulled back, “Don't worry I didn't forget you,” you wink.

He simply chuckles as you sit down next to him, a gentle breeze flowing through the apartment as you settle in and relax for the rest of the night. The little black moth remaining on the windowsill for quite awhile before finally flying off.

 

The next few days go more or less the same. You wake up next to Sans, go to work (Robert nowhere in sight, thankfully) and come home to hang out with either just the two of you or as a group at Toriel's. Frisk seems to be feeling better and better as each day passes and Flowey has actually been quiet, throwing a snide comment here and there but it becomes normal. Each night then becomes a ritual as the same black moth keeps coming back, over and over. Sans must have been right and maybe it wasn't a good idea to feed the little creature but you couldn't help yourself, no harm done.

Before you realize it it's already Thursday night. Oliver brought a friend or two with him this time, they were smaller than he was but were equally as friendly and curious about both you and the offerings you left for them. Sans found it odd but laughed it off, he noticed how your soul brightened with seeing the moths and he let you have your new friends.

“gonna name those ones too..?” he teased from his spot on the couch, some sitcom playing in the background on the television.

“Hmmmn.. nah. They're kind of hard to tell apart..” you confess, smiling sheepishly. You could point out Oliver from his size and ripped wing but the other two were identical.

“you'll run grillbz out of business at this rate,” he chuckled.

 You were about to reply but caught a movement on the wall beside you, you jumped back and gasped as a quarter sized spider crawled it's way across the smooth surface. You stammered and shuddered, backing away from the wall, “Oh my god gross!”

Sans tried to suppress his laughter, “so.. moths are okay.. but spiders aren't?”

“Uh, No! Spiders bite! And..” you shuddered as it ran across the wall with all it's legs touching over everything, “Are so creepy.”

He couldn't hold it anymore, he just burst into a fit of laughter, holding his chest as he heaved you thought he would keel over.

“It's not funny! Seriously Sans help me get rid of it..” You looked around the room, Chip sitting off by the hallway and slowly blinked at you. Some help he would be, he was a terrible hunter. You fled into the bedroom to grab a magazine and rushed back in, trying to pin point where the spider had crawled to as you approached the wall. Sans was still laughing, of course.

You tried being nice to spiders once, then woke up with a bite on your arm. _'Never again'_ you swore and you planned on keeping it. You spotted it as it crept over to the window, raising the rolled up glossy paper slowly, “Oh no you don't, you leave Oliver alone-”

Bony fingers gripped onto your wrist just as you were about to squish the home invader, Sans was chuckling still as he lowered your weapon and shook his head, “g-give me a minute.. my god..”

You raised an eyebrow but quickly jumped back as he lifted his hands and brushed the spider onto his palm, your skin flared up with goosebumps as he turned with it cradled in his hand and waltzed to the door. You tiptoed after him, curious but still wary as he opened the apartment door and knelt down to brush it off outside and into the hall before closing the door.

“Sans oh my god it's just gonna crawl under the door,” you huffed, folding your arms.

“nah,” he made his way back to the living room and plopped back into his spot on the couch.

“What do you mean by that? You should have just let me kill it-” you blinked as he shook his head.

“you never know who they could be,” he murmured, “muffet wouldn't be too keen on that.”

“Muffet..? Oh no there are ..” you swallowed, “spider monsters?”

He nodded, flicking his white pupils towards you with his grin only broadening, “as I said.. you never know who they could be.” He draped his arms over the back of the couch, winking at you as you shuddered. The thought of a spider the size of a person really didn't settle with you, you hoped that it wasn't something that grotesque but your mind still trailed there as you looked back to the window. Another moth had joined the group, much smaller than the others.

You went to the couch, plopping down next to the skeleton who set his arm around your shoulders and pulled you into his side. His new jacket was nice, the fake fur was so soft and you couldn't help but nuzzle into it as you rested your head on his shoulder. You two spent the night chilling in the living room, eventually falling asleep there as for some reason your body felt increasingly tired and heavy. You submitted to the feeling and passed out along with Sans who had succumbed before you had.

 

***

 

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

A lone black metronome sat atop of a small table before you.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

It kept ticking, the hand slowly swaying side to side as you watched it. You felt your feet firmly planted to the ground and it took a moment to look around. You were in a small, square room with darkened walls, a short hallway and white floors that felt like concrete. You pulled your hands up onto your arms as you glanced around, turning in slow circles before stopping at the hallway. Carefully you padded over to it, you stood on your toes as the floor under your bare feet was rather cold. You made your way down the short hall and came to a stop at a blank wall. What?

“Why is this even here.. where am I..?” you murmured, looking over the wall as if you didn't trust your first few glance overs. You expected to see a door knob or at least the outline of a door but there was nothing, just solid walls.

Sighing you felt an eerie silence, the metronome had stopped ticking. You slowly turn around to see that the device is gone but sitting on the table is a black moth with a torn wing. You blinked at the creature before slowly making your way back to the table and looked at it.

“Oliver..? Why are you in my dream..?” you smile, reaching a hand out to the bug. As your hand got closer a sudden static started to fill into your mind, you hesitated. Fingers slightly outstretched you continued to lower them until the little moth crawled up onto your hand carefully, you expected it to tickle but you didn't feel anything. Instead you felt something else, a presence looming over you from behind.

You froze, the static warping and fizzling in your ears to a smooth and warbled speech.

“How.. interesting..” it hummed, you felt the vibrations at your back but you were too scared to look. The moth fluttered against your skin as a chill went up your spine.

“Are you afraid?” the voice cooed.

 

You swallowed dryly before slowly turning to look over your shoulder, your eyes widening as you were met with the chest of a tall monster as it was literally that close to you. A black lab coat was draped over it's sharp figure, a light gray turtleneck sweater underneath. As you continued to turn and look upwards you finally came face to face with a white, sharp jawed, cracked face. You gasped and lurched back into the table, the moth fluttered away from you before landing back on your upper arm. A harsh static filled the air when the moth lost contact from you but it quickly smoothed out upon landing on you once more.

“Wh-who..” you stammered. The monster merely chuckled, a soft and mellow tone to it's voice. It's face didn't look pained even though two deep cracks ran under the left eye and above the right, splitting a slight deformity of the brow which drooped across it's socket. White pupils, much like Sans', flickered and studied you curiously before he spoke.

“You know who I am.” The man had his hands placed behind his back, standing up straight with his shoulders back. His chest was rather broad but narrowed at his waist.

“G..Gaster..?” you questioned, focusing on his face. His mouth was raised in a cracked smile that seemed almost permanent.

 “Yes. I am thankful to be in contact with you, human. It has taken many days to focus my magic to allow us to converse.”

“W-wha?” you blinked wildly at the creature as he loomed above you, he must have stood close to seven feet tall easily. He was extremely intimidating, calculated.

“I have been calling the child for such a long time,” he began, his voice slightly hissing as static edged on his words, “I was curious to see if a different soul.. one as bright as yours.. could hear me or not. Luckily it has.”

“C-calling..? You mean you've been talking to Frisk?” the moth gave a flutter against your skin before it started to crawl up your bicep, Gaster remained uncomfortably close.

“Indeed. It seems they want to help me and in exchange I shall help the young prince return to his original birthed state.”

“Sans said that you're dead-” you were cut off as he laughed, the static in your mind prickling your neck and down your spine.

“I am merely trapped between time lines. With my knowledge of souls I believe I have found the solution to leaving.. Speaking of which, yours is rather curious.”

You slipped up onto the table to sit down, this was all too vivid to be a dream. He watched you expectantly as you chewed at the inside of your cheek before speaking, “Curious..? As in different or.. is that bad?”

“I have only seen a handful of yellow souls in my existence, none of them rival the brightness of yours. It is.. an oddity,” he brought his right had forth, gesturing gently towards you, “May I?”

You were a tad apprehensive but nodded gently. Your gaze shifted down to his arm as he slowly brought his right hand forward out towards you, you shied away and pushed back across the table as his hand came closer. It was milky white, sharp claw like protrusions on the end of each finger and had a massive hole through the palm. It startled you, like something from a horror flick you weren't sure if you trusted it. Unknowingly having reached the other end of the table you were forced onto your elbows to keep yourself propped up, trying to lean away from his advance. The black moth skittered around your shoulder excitedly.

“Relax,” he cooed as his he rotated his hand, a gentle pulling on your soul turned your gaze down to your chest and as he curled his pointer finger up your soul was called forth. The yellow soul thrummed as it was held out in front of you, soft flecks of light beading from it's form to cascade onto your clothes. Gaster pulled your soul further from your body as he stood directly in front of the table, a soft flush rising in your face as you noticed he was standing between your legs with you leaned back on your elbows across the wood.

“How interesting..” he hummed, taking note of the embers of light that were being shed from your soul. He gently cupped his hand around the soul, not yet touching it but you gripped onto the edges of the table as you watched, “I first noticed you in the void because of this soul's bright aura, I have yet to see any soul, monster or human, leak energy.”

“S-so I did see something.. I-i heard you,” you murmured, remembering how all those times Sans teleported you. The static, the hands, the visions, it was all making sense.

He nodded lightly, examining the soul with intrigue as you spoke up, “H-how.. How did you get into my head? How am I talking to you..?”

He chuckled, his shoulders softly rising and falling before he replied, “I have moths around your home, your constant interactions with them allow my magic to saturate an area though it is rather tiresome.”

“You've been spying on me?” your breath hitched in your throat but he shook his head.

“These creatures,” he gestured to the moth crawling on your arm, “Are of their own mind, their own devices, they simply carry my magic and allow me to communicate with a soul of my choosing. I assume the child did not mention that they also see the insects?”

You blinked, a bit of relief washing over you at the security of him not knowing your multiple conversations with Oliver. But that relief was replaced with a tinge of guilt as he was right, Frisk didn't mention anything.. you cast your gaze down, “No.. They tried to tell me about you but I didn't really listen..”

“That's all right, human.” He pressed the soul back into your chest with his pointer finger but kept it against your sternum for a moment, as if feeling your heartbeat but you couldn't feel him at all, “I assume you believe them now. You must hurry, I can not keep up this strain of magic for long and the more time you take the less time the prince has.”

“W-who are you talking about.. Flowey?” you ask, scrunching your brow in confusion.

He lifted his left brow, smiling a tad wider, “Exactly, I need you to bring the prince to me in the underground. It seems as if the human child can not do it alone.”

“That sounds.. really dangerous..” you murmured.

“Nonesense,” he scoffed, “But time is running out. Soon the prince will be banished back into the underground and without a strong soul to guide him.. He will never find me.”

You felt your soul pulse with purpose, it did make sense. If Flowey was banished into the underground there's no way Sans would ever let Frisk back down there alone, and he especially wouldn't agree to try finding his dead Father. He had laid that to rest behind him, he didn't believe the child and you felt he wasn't about to be persuaded otherwise. Gaster's smile broadened before he pulled his hand back and stood straight. His lab coat seemed to be faltering, wavering and even melting.

“All right..” you began, “I see your point.. But how will we find you?” you remembered that night in the hall, Flowey said something about a door and before Gaster could respond you clarified, “Look for a door.. isn't that a tad ambiguous?”

“Follow Oliver,” he pointed down to the moth who fluttered under the new attention, you glanced down to the moth and watched it crawl over your shoulder before turning back to be met with white walls. Gaster had vanished but you could still feel his presence. The room had started to glow brighter, it burned at your eyes and you quickly closed them with a grunt before the last few words could be sewn into your mind.

_“I will be waiting.”_

 

The light pounding against your eyelids faded but only slightly, you sighed as you flicked your eyes open and scrunched your nose in confusion as you tried to process where you were. You were laying on the couch on your side, a blanket draped over you and as you looked across the living room you found the window shut and everything quiet.

Slowly you pushed yourself up and yawned, your back and neck popping as you stretched and sat up. You felt pretty well rested, a new vigor in your soul after your experience with Gaster. Sans was right about him being intimidating but they always said that genius bordered on madness, Alphys herself was a bit different too.

“Mn.. Sans?” you called out, looking around once more as you didn't get a response but as you swung your legs off of the couch you found a note sitting on the coffee table. You swiped it off of the wood and read over it quickly, Sans' handwriting looked so odd.. like.. comic sans, the font. Your expression went blank at that for quite awhile before shaking your head and read over the note once again as it hadn't sunk in the first time.

_'hey. kiddo's got a meeting to go to. i'll pick you up after work._

_p.s. those damn moths had tried sleeping with us on the couch, took forever to swat em out._

_stop feedin' those pricks. -sans'_

 

You genuinely giggled at the note, imagining Sans having to wrangle the moths back out the window. You bit onto your lip as realization dawned on you, he had swatted his own father's magic out of the apartment. That was how he was able to tether himself to talk to you in your dreams. You weren't sure if you should bring up your dream to Sans but as you noticed the time you didn't have the chance to think much on it. You were running a bit late.

You scrambled to get to work and barely made it before anyone had noticed. The morning went as usual, clock in, direct calls and respond to emails. It was a bit busier today so you didn't get the chance to go out to lunch with Jenny but she did bring you back your favorite salad which you happily ate between phone calls. As the end of the day drew near your boss' caller ID lit up the display, you answered it quickly.

“Yeah, Allison?” you asked curiously.

“Come down to my office we have to talk,” she didn't even wait for you to reply before she hung up.

That didn't settle well with you. You sat there for a moment, gathering your thoughts as your eyes narrowed. _'Robert,'_ you hissed internally, _'What could it be this time..?'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah yeah slight cliff hanger.  
> The next chapter is done and is in the editing stage which should take another day at most before posting I just wanted to give you guys an update as it's been a few days and there's a whoooollee lotta pages that are ready to be published now. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting, kudos, ect it means a lot to me. <3  
> Things are gonna start gettin' pretty cray from here-on.


	22. Jail Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert's douche baggery seems to know no bounds and no consequence.

Sitting in the office with Allison was weird. There was an awkward, long silence as she scrolled through her computer screen. You had to focus to not look at Robert who was sitting next to you in the adjacent chair, he had bandages all over his face and even looked a tad bruised though that only made you sit up taller. You weren't going to be submissive to this jerk or show you were nervous.

He hadn't said a word but kept glancing over to you, you refused to meet his gaze and kept your attention on your boss straight in front of you. Allison sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before turning to the both of you.

“I don't know what the deal is with you two-” she held out her hand as Robert opened his mouth to keep him quiet before continuing, “but I can't have it anymore in my building.”

She then turned the computer screen to face you, deja vu flooded your mind as you came face to face with a youtube search display all with videos of you in Grillby's. Your gut twisted as she scrolled, and scrolled and scrolled through the numerous uploads with a heavy sigh, “See all of these..? It's completely unacceptable.”

“But it was okay for him to  _grab_ me!?” you hissed, balling your hands into fists as they rested on your lap.

“Oh please, I hardly even fucking touched you-” Robert spat only to get you to finally whip around to him with a hard glare.

“You grabbed me hard and you know it you prick-!,” you seethed as Allison cleared her throat, clearly irritated but Robert responded anyways.

“I bet it was nothing to that dirty skeleton grabbing you-” Allison slammed her fist on the table, making you both jump and turn back to her as her gaze flicked between the both of you.

“As I have stated before. I do not care about the relationships of my employees. What I DO care about is how they treat each other and this-,” she pointed between the both of you, “is not going to work and it's not going to continue.”

You blurt out, “Then just fire him already so he'll leave me the fuck alone-”

“He's not getting fired. You are,” she stated.

“W-what?!” You gasped, stammering as Robert sat back in his chair with a smirk.

“You physically assaulted him! This isn't the wild west where 'fighting words' dictate your actions. You should know better than that!” she jabbed her finger to the screen, wildly scrolling up and down the page, “You are all over the internet, you're going viral and it's damning evidence against you.”

“Ali.. Ali come on he has been harassing me for over a week!” you plead, you couldn't lose this job.

“You don't have any proof of that,” Robert sneered as you met his gaze, glaring daggers through his shit eating grin before looking back to your boss.

“You can't just fire me, you know I can't afford to lose this job,” you felt tears building in your eyes but your boss met you with a firm, apologetic stare.

“I'm sorry, but I can't have this. If I kept you here it would put my livelihood and reputation at risk. Not to mention that HR would have my head, my hands are tied.” She leaned back into her chair with a sigh, you couldn't believe this. You had defended yourself, you had tried to fend him off, scare him off but all it did was make him fight you harder. And it looks like he finally won.

“I waited until the end of the day so you'd have a bit more on your last paycheck, as well as two weeks severance but that's all I can do,” she pushed the screen back into it's original position and closed down the tabs as you sat in shock.

“So.. that's it, huh?” you swallowed deeply, a lump forming in your throat.

“Yes, you're not working here anymore,” as Allison turned to you she witnessed you fleeing out of the room.

You heard your boss call your name but you were too upset, too pissed off to care. You strode past Jenny's office with heavy foot steps but she was in with a client, you'd tell her later. Instead you bulldozed to your desk to clock out and clear any information you had like passwords and email information. Blinking past bitter tears you hadn't even noticed Robert leaning over the counter, staring at you.

“Hey, I'm sorry about you getting fired but-”

You snarled as you stood from the chair, pushing it back against the floor as you glared at him, “But _what?_ ”

“I only did it for your benefit, monsters are dangerous-” his eyes widened as you slammed your palms on the counter, leaning over it to get in his face as you hissed.

“How is taking away my paycheck _protecting me from monsters?”_ you wanted to scream, to yell or punch him but miraculously you were able to hold yourself back as you watched his dark brown eyes flicker across your face.

“Girl like you can get another job in a nice town away from here, you don't need some filthy beast to take care of you. Hell you could even meet a nice _man_ , have some kids and settle down.”

You were too disgusted to respond, the sexist pig in front of you seemed to actually be thinking these things were okay to say to you. To make matters worse he just kept on talking as your anger boiled through your veins.

“I get it. You're a bleeding heart, but nothing good comes from weird foreigners trying to change our laws, take our money and fornicate with our people,” he scoffed, as if it were so obvious and you were just a clueless kid, “It's not natural. You should stop seeing that thing before you get hurt.”

“Sans is not a _thing,”_ you could feel the tears slipping down your cheeks but didn't care, your lips drawn back to show your bared teeth as you spoke sharply, “if you really hate monsters so much why don't _YOU_ move? Why don't you quit _YOUR_ job instead of bullying me out of mine and expecting _me_ to leave when it's _you_ with the problem!”

He eased off from the counter, you caught a glimpse of blue walking through the door just over his shoulder as he continued to drawl on, “Because I am keeping pretty girls like you out of harms way, women don't know what they want. They're too air headed and soft! They need a man to take care of them and protect them.”

You were sure that if you had magic you would have loved to summon a spear like Undyne right then and there, but you couldn't. You always knew Robert was old fashioned but with it all out in the open it really shocked you how disgusting some people really are, you bet his soul was brown as all that ever came out of his mouth was shit.

“Oh, I suppose you mean somebody like _you,_ Rob? I bet your wife is a lucky lady,” you spat bitterly, venom coating your tongue, “I bet she loves waiting on you hand and foot like a slave.”

“That's a woman's place and you should remember that,” he sneered, you were so angry you felt tears building up in your eyes and rapidly tried to blink them away.

“h e y    p a l,    d o    y o u    w a n t    t o    h a v e    a    _**b a d    t i m e**_. . ?” Sans low growl filled the lobby, a deep pressure building in the air.

You tried to look around the older man but he was so close he fully blocked the skeleton, settling your attention back to Robert filled you with a sense of pleasure to see that sneer instantly change to fear, he hadn't experienced this magic before but you knew it intimately.

“because if you keep going the way you are.. you are really, really not going to like what happens next,” Sans breathed, a soft laughter weaving into his words.

That did it, your snarl turned into an amused smirk as Robert's bruised face scrunched into anger, whipping around to face the skeleton. Sans was standing there against the light of the windows, his figure silhouetted with the suns rays at his back. His shoulders hung slightly hunched, hands firmly planted in his blue jacket pockets. But it was the expression on his face that pulled you in as his right eye was blank, the left a brilliant blue with soft pulsations of yellow in the center as his magic thickened in the air. That blue magic tinted the side of his face and a few strands of the fake fur lining the hood of his jacket.

“You dare fucking threaten me, you cretin?!” Robert snapped while pressing back against the counter. You took your palms from the desk and took a few steps away from the counter, you could tell Robert was scared and maybe at one time you would have been as well. Instead it just gave you butterflies.

“buddy. pal,” Sans was dripping sarcasm, “if you've got a _bone_ to pick do it with me, not the little lady. I've got over two hundred of 'em. hell, _tibia-onest_ with you i'd even let you choose.”

You made your way around the counter and over to Sans carefully, the closer you got the heavier the air became but he kept his eye on the man in front of him.

“Are you trying to make a fool of me-?” Robert hissed, you snapped at him before he could say anything else.

“You've done a good job of that yourself,” you snorted, closing the distance as you stood at Sans' side.

“Was I speaking to _you?_ ” he growled, a harsh tremor reverberated through the lobby as Sans glare became much darker. Robert stumbled back, inching his way back towards the hall without taking his eyes off of the both of you.

You gently slid your hand through the crook of Sans arm and rested your fingers on his bicep as you looked back to Robert with a smile. Sans' magic didn't intimidate you anymore, you found it quite alluring after all the things he had done to you and with you. The skeleton held his posture as the two stared each other down, you noticed that Roberts hands were balled into fists and were shaking.

“What are you doing you freak?!” Robert barked, obviously scared at the thickening tremor blanketing the lobby, “What's happening?!”

“your sins.. they're crawling on your back,” he stated as if he were a judge, sentencing someone to the death penalty.

“I don't have any sins! I'm christian! You're going to burn in hell-” he turned his attention to you as he took a step back, “and so will you, you whore!”

You knew Robert's type. The ones who use any excuse to validate any wrongdoing, to excuse responsibility to hurting others or themselves. You felt your soul give a flash of light, you wouldn't let people like this hurt you or your friends ever again. He may have taken your job but your true purpose was clear, to stop people like this from having any sort of power or presence to hurt or control others. To help the underdogs and speak for those unjustly acted on by the fear and hatred of others.

You felt a soft tugging at your chest before your soul burst forth, illuminating the lobby in a golden light as flecks of energy sprinkled down to the floor. You felt Sans shift, looking over at you with widened eye sockets yet his grin deepened. Robert looked truly horrified, he brought his hand up and pointed at you frantically speaking.

“That thing is doing something to you-!”

“No, he's not. This is my soul, you know what it means..?” you quipped, “It stands for Justice.” He stood there, gaping and sweating while Sans' just began to chuckle lowly as his magic began to dissipate.

“You got me fired, then came up to me to try to say it was for my _benefit_. You know what..? You're right. There is a benefit to all of this. I realize now that I've got another purpose in life and that's to make sure people like you never get what you want, to oppress and judge others because of their differences. You can protest and petition and throw tantrums all you want because I'll be standing there in front of you, blocking your every attempt to bring us to the dark ages. You think women are weak? I'm not the one seeing a grown man nearly piss himself.”

You heard gasps and chattering as the office started to gather around the lobby, drawn by the light of your thrumming soul, too afraid to actually step inside but watched in awe as you stood there firmly, you even caught of glimpse of Jenny as she pushed herself to the forefront while her client just ducked back down the hall frantically typing on their cell phone.

“I know you're the one leading that monster hate group, Robert-,” you noticed how he swallowed at that, flicking his eyes around the growing crowd nervously as you continued, “And you know what..? Whether you like it or not things are changing, you have to adapt or you can keep fighting on the wrong side of history. You don't hate monsters because you hate magic, you hate magic because you hate monsters. You're afraid of things you don't understand and instead of fighting it maybe you should grow some balls and do some research. Educate yourself instead of formulating a solid opinion with no facts or evidence.”

You were shaking in the heat of the moment, trying to slow your breaths as your mini-rant left Robert breathless. He took a tentative step back, his eyes flicking between your soul and Sans who drew his shoulders back and stood much more casually with his white pupils staring back. After quite awhile Sans began to chuckle, startling the crowd all except for Jenny.

“you just got dunked on, again, pal.”

 

Roberts face flared up bright red, for once he couldn't think of any words to throw back at you. As you stood your ground with Sans you felt powerful, in control and full of energy and your soul showed it as it fluttered bursts of gentle light within it's core. The man snarled loudly as he whipped around, shoved past Jenny which nearly knocked her over, and fled back down the hall. Your friend gawked at being pushed but let it go to instead rush over to you, her eyes sparkling as she stopped in front of you and stared at your soul, “Oh my god I get why they call you Sun now!”

The small crowd nervously remained to watch but murmurs broke out among them, you couldn't hear what was said as you were focused on your friends glowing face. You giggled as Jenny reached out her hand but Sans was quick to lift his other hand up to get her to stop, she looked at the skeleton curiously as he spoke up, “whoa there, that would be a rather _sun-setive_ experience for the lady.”

Jenny flushed quickly, as did you, this was the first time you were glad Jenny had a perverted mind as she retracted her hand and laughed sheepishly. You looked down at your soul, realizing how much attention you were drawing and quickly tried to pull it back but all it did was quiver. Sans then slightly turned, sticking his index finger out at your soul and drove it back inside of your chest just as Allison rushed into the lobby with Robert on her heels. You glanced up to her, seeing the shock plastered all over her face and mumbled to Sans, “Let's get out of here..”

Jenny was quick to catch your arm as you both turned, “Wait why are you leaving..? Your shift isn't over for another couple of minutes..?”

“I got fired, Jenny..” you murmured, your emotions too much of a cluster fuck to go into it further than that. Sans' expression softened as he placed his free hand back into his jacket, his white eyes bouncing onto Jenny as her face scrunched up in an irate confusion.

“You _whaat-?_ ” Jenny flipped her head around, spotting Allison immediately and began to stride over to her.

You drew your lips into a thin line, nudging Sans with your elbow to get moving as you started to hear her blow up at your old boss. You even heard Robert try to talk down to her but he was quickly shot down, you've never heard your friend so upset before as her shrill voice followed the both of you out of the door and onto the street. You could still hear her squeaking behind the glass as you strode in the fresh air, making your way back to the apartments. It was a few minutes before Sans spoke up.

“they saw the videos, huh?” he said.

“Yep.”

“couldn't keep you because it went viral, eh?”

“Yeep.”

“prick bag tried to air his reasons to you to not feel like such a prick bag but actually only proved his prick bagginess?”

“Yeeeep,” you snorted, giggling at his choice of words as you set your free hand on the crook of his arm.

“sorry you lost your job,” his white pupils flicked over to you but you just smiled.

“I think I'm just more.. rattled that Robert picked a fight with me over actually getting cut loose.. I'll figure something out. I do get some severance pay but I'll probably have to move,” you sigh, you hated apartment hunting and now you'd have to not only find a new job but downsize from your flat as everywhere else was just too expensive.

“yeah, you will,” you turned to look at him and he met your gaze, “you'll move in with papyrus and i.”

“W-wha..? Huh? Sans no you don't have to do that-” he shook his head and chuckled, looking straight ahead as a few humans careened their necks to watch a human/monster couple stroll about.

“i want to. besides, paps would love the company,” he stated, his mind made up but yours was reeling. You had only known him for a short time and while you had been intimate that was nowhere near the same commitment of living together, permanently.

“I don't want to force you into anything.. I can really take care of myself it's no problem,” you argued but he didn't seem as if he was listening.

“we've already been living together for about a week,” he smirked.

He was right, you sighed, “Yeah but that's just because of the buddy system rule.. _thing_ ,” you waved your hand against his forearm to try making your point but he wasn't seeing it.

“you think that rule is gonna change just because you move?” he chuckled, keeping his eyes straight ahead as you went along, “turns out alphys can't reconstruct a soul for the weed so he will have to go back to the underground, i don't trust him to play nice so i'd rather keep an eye socket out on ya. not to mention you're probably gonna get targeted by that hate group.”

“Oh..” you chewed at the inside of your cheek, you hadn't even thought of Robert being a threat as he was more so just extremely frustrating to deal with. But he had a point, politics and group mentality could really put you in danger.. There was no going back now. As you walked, matching Sans lackadaisical pace, you smiled. That was okay with you, you'd stand up for your friends no matter what and if that meant getting a brick thrown threw the window once in awhile then maybe you'd have enough to build Toriel a house.

“That's okay with me. I've got pretty good insurance,” you giggle as Sans sighs and chuckles, “and I guess that means I get to spend more time with Papyrus, watch movies, cook.. it's a win/win.”

“my _vertebro_ would like that,” he snickered as you rolled your eyes at his pun, your smile only deepening. You glanced back to him as silence fell between you, he was smiling as usual with his eyelids slightly drooped. He looked comfortable despite the show earlier.

After a few more steps you decided to bring the subject back around to Flowey, it had already been a week and you knew it was getting closer to the deadline, “So Alphys really can't help, huh?”

You watched as he shook his head, Gaster wasn't kidding when he said time was running out. Frisk must have told him everything going on, kind of interesting he could understand the child when all they could do was use sign language. You shook the thought as you looked over to Sans, waiting for a response but he never gave you one. You hesitantly spoke up.

“But.. if he _did_ have a soul-”

His eyes flicked over to yours once more as you approached the apartment building, speaking lowly, “but he doesn't. so it doesn't matter.”

You felt his guard going up but it was now or never to talk about it. You weren't sure how to exactly start talking about your dreams so you went easy and tried to continue the conversation, ease into it, “Well, what if someone else could make one for him..?”

He stopped you just short of the entrance to the building, giving you an odd stare as he murmured, “did the kid bring this up to you again? because the last time I checked you were on my side with it.”

Oh great, he was making you choose. He was so collected during tense moments with any subject but one. Anything that dealt with the lost scientist he would instantly throw up a wall and become unsettled. You wanted to know so badly what had happened but that would come with time, you couldn't force it out of him or have him be cooperative especially on the side of the street. Maybe you should have waited until you were back in the apartment but it was too late to stop now.

You chewed on the inside of your cheek, glancing at the door and then back at him, “I agree that it's not okay for Frisk to go alone, especially alone with Flowey. But.. couldn't we just entertain the idea? Go with them? If there's nothing there then no harm done, right?”

His eyes dimmed as he watched you for a few moments, turning more to face you and forced you to let go of his arm, “he's dead. he's been dead. whatever frisk saw wasn't who they think it was.”

“But that picture-”

“i know what that picture looked like-” his smile seemed strained, pausing as a few people passed you out of the building and went on their way before speaking back up, his voice nearly a growl, “wd gaster is dead. that.. _thing_.. is not my dad.”

 _'That thing..?'_ He knew. He knew he was alive. It made sense, if you saw and felt Gaster in the void while teleporting Sans surely would have. You wanted to just spill everything, tell him about Oliver and how you met Gaster in your dreams. How he was so calm, collected and mysterious. How he wanted to help and in turn be helped. You wanted to shake Sans into the realization his dad was alive and not some horrid monstrosity.. but his expression bit your tongue. He was struggling to keep his composure, the corner of his mouth twitching as his eyes began to narrow.

“lets go inside,” he sighed, pulling his hands from his pockets as he stepped towards the door with a hand on your lower back and opened the door with other to guide you inside which you complied with, “and leave this conversation outside.”

The door slammed closed behind you two, making you jump before you climbed the stairs with the skeleton trailing behind you. You didn't have the courage to say anymore than that.

 

***

You were now sitting in Toriel's flat on the couch, a cup of tea in your hands. When you got back upstairs you changed out of your work clothes and into a tank top, leggings and a light zip up jacket with a hood to be more comfortable with your phone stuffed into the pocket. Sans had been quiet for the past hour or so with you but you could finally hear him loosen up in the kitchen with Toriel as they cracked a few bad jokes while she baked. Frisk was sitting across from you at the coffee table, scribbling away at some printer paper with crayons and Flowey sat next to them on the wood to watch what they were drawing. You lost your job, upset Sans and now were mulling over thoughts of going against his word. If Flowey was truly Toriel's lost son how could it hurt to bring him back? Not to mention reuniting Sans and Papyrus with their father.. what was there to lose? Why was he being so damn stubborn? Sure Gaster was odd during your interaction with him but he seemed like any other monster, his own personality and quirks.. What had Sans seen that made him so afraid? So angry?

Your scowl made it evident to Flowey that you were irritated, he watched you for a moment before humming to draw your attention to him, “Why don't you sit down with us?” he asked blissfully, patting the edge of his pot with a leaf.

Frisk looked up from their drawing and smiled, nodding to you. You returned their smile and slid off of the couch and onto the floor to sit at the coffee table, an idea striking in your mind as you set the cup down next to you and asked for a piece of paper and a black crayon. Flowey's smile widened as Frisk obliged and you began to doodle, this would be the moment of truth to trusting Gaster if this also was true and not some type of trick or lie.

You drew a relatively okay looking black moth, leaving scratch marks in the one wing and filled it in carefully before looking up and found Frisk staring at what you were doing. You glanced over to the kitchen, finding the two 'adults' still chatting before turning your attention to the child and leaned across the table a tad, keeping your voice down, “Have you seen this guy before..?”

You turned the paper around so they could get a better view and Frisk sternly nodded before signing quickly, Flowey translated in a hushed voice, “Oliver, right?”

You swallowed, looking down to your drawing. The only people that knew this moth were you, Sans and Gaster. You didn't take Sans as the type of guy to just bring up something like that so it must have been the scientist. You had to be sure though, you had to get some validation that this was even real and not some crazy delusion of too much magic on your body, “Who told you-?”

“Who do you think you idiot?” Flowey rolled his eyes, crossing his leaves over his stem, “Frisk talks to him all the time.”

You blinked to the child who nodded again before starting to sign even faster than before, the sound of a mixer filling the room from the kitchen as well as the scent of cinnamon and butterscotch. You managed to hear the flower murmur under the harsh noise with irritation filling his words, “We have to leave tonight, tomorrow they're going to take me back to the underground.”

You froze, this was going way too fast but Flowey kept talking, “When they come back, open the window and make sure it stays open. It's the only way we will be able to leave.”

Oh man, what had you gotten yourself into. Though as you watched the two in front of you, you knew that they were going with or without you and it was best if you tagged along. You could fight, you could defend yourself if you had to. As you looked down at your clothes you sighed, you had changed into comfortable clothes not really ones for taking a hike in but it didn't seem like you had a choice at this point. With the windows open and moths in the area you figured Gaster would be using magic to make everyone fall asleep like you did the other night, it was a rather clever idea and maybe you could even be home before dawn.

You looked to the window, expecting to see moths but you didn't. You heard the mixer's harsh noise shut off finally as Toriel moved onto pouring the mix into her pie tins, chatting away with Sans who cracked another awful pun about spices. A twinge of excitement pulled at your stomach, you didn't want to deceive anybody but you couldn't give up the opportunity to help the monsters. With Flowey changed back into a real child he would have emotions again, morals. You wouldn't have to worry about him causing a scene ever again and it would help the monsters gain their rights and freedoms on the surface. Not to mention Toriel and Asgore would get to see their son, get to live with their son again. Your soul fluttered with purpose.

Flowey blinked, as if blinded for a moment but his smile drew up into his eyes before softly swaying side to side and turned his attention back to frisk who was drawing something of their own on a fresh piece of paper. It looked like a map, they were using a blue crayon to draw hallways, scribbling in some areas which reminded you of water.. perhaps rivers? You were drawn away from the child with a light tugging on your soul, the feeling was familiar as you looked back to the window and found Oliver sitting there on the pane of glass, easily identified by his wing.

This was it. You swallowed, hesitating but Frisk glanced up and gave you a thumbs up. You nodded to them and stood with a smile, lightly tapping the window to dislodge the moth before opening it. A nice fresh breeze filtered into the room as the moth was soon met with another as they crawled around on the windowsill. You looked back to Frisk as they were gripping their sweater with one hand and motioning with the free one as if they wanted you to mimic the movement. You raised an eyebrow, holding your hand out to Oliver which quickly clambered onto your hand. His little fluffy legs tickled your skin as you looked back to Frisk, their motions more urgent as you heard the oven close.

Frisk wanted you to put the moth in your jacket..? Oh hell. That was pushing your comfort zone but you didn't have time to think about it further. Like ripping off a band aid you unzipped your jacket a tad and tucked the bug into it quickly. Oliver scrambled off of your hand and onto your chest, just below your breast as he huddled beneath the fabric. You felt chills go up your spine as a familiar static crackled at the edge of your hearing but you went back to the table and sat down on the floor as calmly as you could just as Sans and Toriel strolled back into the living room.

You smiled as they noticed the window was open, “It was getting a bit stuffy with the oven on,” you explained. You were surprised with yourself, normally you were a horrendous liar but the words poured from you like silk and they didn't even bat an eye.

The two walked further into the room, Toriel taking the love seat and Sans plopped onto the couch beside you with his leg lightly brushing your arm as he spoke up sleepily, “long as you aren't gonna infest tori's place with those moths.”

You laughed nervously, the moth lightly fluttering against you at the sudden movement as you quickly tried to relax. It was severely uncomfortable having a bug sit inside your jacket but at least it wasn't on your skin directly, you'd be tickled into a stupor.

“Moths?” Toriel asked curiously, a smile drawn over her lips as Sans nodded.

“yeah. gon' run grillbz out of business. i'm surprised you haven't heard, it's the latest _buzz_ around town.” he drawled, earning a fit of giggles from Toriel.

You watched as Frisk kept on drawing, filling in more detail as the minutes ticked by. Toriel and Sans' conversation slowly began to slip off, you noticed Frisk was also having a hard time staying awake but were determined to work on their map. Sans was the first to drop, his light snoring sent an uneasy feeling through you. Should you really be doing this..?

After a few more minutes Frisk stood from the table groggily and picked Flowey's pot up from the wood before trudging to their room. You whipped your head around as you saw them leave, glancing over the sleeping forms of both Toriel and Sans who had a few months clinging onto their arms and one was even perched on Sans' knee. You stood warily, careful to not disturb anyone and tiptoed after Frisk.

Poking your head into the room you found the child placing Flowey into that all familiar backpack along with a few flashlights, meal bars and two water bottles. Frisk had been thinking about this for awhile now. You watched as the child mostly zipped up the backpack but left an opening for Flowey to peek out of if he wanted to, they slipped on the backpack and turned back to you while rubbing their eyes drowsily.

Frisk walked over to you slowly, grabbing your hand before leading you out of the apartment. After closing the door behind you it was as if Frisk was snapped out of a dream, their head perking up immediately as they strolled over to the staircase and you had to hurry on after them. As you followed Frisk to the nearby bus stop you felt an increasingly heavy guilt weigh on your shoulders, only being able to stave off the bad feelings by ensuring you'd all be back before the morning.

The bus was quick to come, you all boarded and Frisk paid the fare with a bit of change they had stuffed into their pocket before plopping down at the back of the bus with the backpack set against the window. You sat down next to them as the vehicle sighed and pulled away with a deep grumble of the engine. You looked over to Frisk who seemed happy as a clam, their legs lightly swinging from the bench.

“So.. you're positive this is going to work?” you murmured, they nodded confidently in return.

“Sans is going to be so absolutely furious with me,” you sighed, placing your face into your hands as Oliver fluttered against your chest inside of the jacket.

Frisk set their hand on your leg, looking up to you with concern. You met their gaze and forced a smile, “To be honest I'm pretty anxious about this adventure.. but.. if we can help people in the process it's worth it, right?”

Frisk beamed up to you, nodding and patted your leg before turning their gaze out of the window to watch the city pass you both by. You watched the window with them, Flowey wriggling around in the backpack on the other side of the child uncomfortably. Well, riding the bus was better than being stuffed into a bag.. or some girl's jacket, you mused with a grin. You were relieved that the moth wasn't really Gaster, that would have been way more awkward as you felt the bug clamber across your ribs.

 

The bus ride was just over half an hour before your stop came and you all piled out into the cool night air. The temperature change chilled your legs but at least your jacket was somewhat warm as you followed Frisk through the trail and to the mouth of a cavern which had taken awhile to finally reach, you gazed up at it in awe before turning around to look at the valley. This was where the monsters had first seen the surface in hundreds of years. Sans had stood here just a few months ago. You drew your attention to the sky, the stars beautifully twinkling all around you.

You felt Frisk grab onto your hand, gently pulling you forward and away from the view as you descended into the underground for the first time. Flashlight in hand Frisk led you through the cavern, passed a throne room and through a barrage of different buildings. They didn't stop to let you explore, keeping a firm grip on your hand as you walked to an elevator and rode it down into a futuristic lobby. Frisk pulled you along out of the door, through an uninhabited hotel and a barren volcanic pathway.

The child turned off the flashlight and slipped it into the backpack as they led you forth, lava spurted and gurgled far below as you nervously went along with the child. The intense heat beat against your body, sweat building up beneath your jacket and slipping down the back of your neck as you hurried along. It was a few more minutes before you passed a giant white building and down a flight of stairs, Flowey had popped up from the pack and was watching you. It must have been too hot for him to remain hidden any longer, light beads of sweat coating his petals as you trudged down the stone steps.

Frisk led you down to a river, an odd cloaked figure standing in a small boat. You sighed as the heat was fanned away by the humidity of the water, if you had stayed in that place any longer you would have dug into the backpack for those water bottles. Frisk wasted no time getting in but you remained hesitant, they had to motion you forward for you to tentatively step inside as the child signed to the cloaked monster. With some sort of odd singing they turned their back to you as the boat pushed off from the bank on it's own accord. You found it odd that this creature was here.. you hadn't seen any other monsters down here so far.

The child happily stood in the boat, looking around as the cavern began to change. Bright blue crystals buried in the walls illuminated the hall and soon you were docked at another bank, much cooler but the humidity wasn't that nice either. You knew your hair would be beyond frizzy by the end of this trip. You scrambled off the boat and onto the soft ground before you heard the river person speak up behind you, “Beware of the man who speaks in hands.”

“Huh-?” you turned to look at the figure, but it remained still.

Frisk grabbed onto your wrist with a sigh, seeming frustrated with you as they strode down the path and led you to a dark, glowing swamp with blue flowers lining the edges of the water. The kid didn't slow, making it impossible for you to take in the scenery. You found yourself staring at the walls, the floor and even the ceiling multiple times as you stumbled along. Frisk led you over wooden walkways, around cyan rivers and through multiple hallways until they suddenly stopped let go of your hand.

You glanced around the room, there was an odd table off to the side and a hole in the wall, “Are we getting close, Frisk?” you murmur as you watch the child dig out the map from the backpack and study it before looking around, they seemed confused.

“Mnn, don't tell me you forgot where it was,” Flowey hissed, sticking his head out of the bag further to try to look at the map.

A soft static tickled your ears as you remembered your dream, “Oh!” they both looked to you as you opened your jacket and carefully scooped the warm moth out from your side, holding it out in front of you as it's antennae wiggled about.

“You kept that thing? It was only supposed to prevent you from falling asleep,” Flowey grunted.

“N-no, Gaster said that Oliver would lead us there,” you smiled, waiting for a moment before the moth took off and hovered in the air before leading you forward. A light tugging on your soul as you walked, Frisk quickly put the map back and picked up their bag before scrambling after you.

The moth led you forward, a cold breeze striking your body as you passed a few waterfalls and as your feet started to hit colder ground the moth suddenly stopped and twisted around you to go back. Flowey sighed with irritation drenching his voice, flinging his head back as Frisk twirled around and followed after you.

“I'm never getting my soul back with you idiots,” Flowey's mumbling were drown out by the sound of static filling your mind, your soul being tugged on a bit harder with each step you took. You passed the table and hole in the wall and began walking down a long corridor. Wait, this hadn't been here earlier.. Frisk suddenly burst into a run, passing you as they slid to a stop to face the wall. You ran up after them as Oliver hovered above the child, a gray door sitting alone in the hard rock.

“Oh thank god! We found the door, now open it so we can get this over with,” Flowey spat, staring up at the faded wood but Frisk hesitated. A sharp hissing was building in the air, crackling and fizzling the longer you stood there.

You wondered if Frisk could hear it too, the static was drowning out all of your conscious thought as your hand suddenly found itself on the doorknob and twisted it. The bolt gave a satisfying hard stop before you pulled the door open and were met with a white floor and dark walls. Just like in your dream a short hallway led to a larger square room. You released the handle and stood in the doorway next to Frisk.

“Well.. we made it..” you blinked, trying to look in the room without actually stepping inside as Frisk did the same. A kind of nervousness settling in on the both of you before a hard tug on your soul snapped you out of your daze. Drawing in a deep breath you strode inside, Oliver fluttering after you but Frisk remained wary and only stepped in a few feet while you found yourself in the middle of the room.

 

Spinning around slowly you realized it was empty, “D-doctor Gaster..?” you called shakily as Oliver landed on your shoulder.

The gray door slammed shut, a rush of air crashing through the short hallway past Frisk and into the main room. It was eerily silent as the echo of the harsh slamming bounced around off of the walls, you kept turning your head while Frisk remained motionless. You looked to them, a strained look on their face and even Flowey looked startled. It took a moment for you to feel it, the odd sensation at your back. Slowly you glanced over your shoulder, being met with the tall figure but he was much creepier in person. His face seemed almost melted, not as sharp as he was in your dream and with his hands poised in the air in front of his chest you could see harsh ridges in his digits, as if he used to be a skeleton monster but had melted and fused into whatever this thing was.

You gasped and back pedaled as the dark blob pressed a hand out towards you, his voice deep and rattling. The static popped and warbled as he spoke with his fingers and figure twitching, “You have finally come.”

You kept drawing back, your eyes wide as the creature approached you. This wasn't the sharply dressed man you had seen in your dreams. He was hunched over, the black lab coat draped over his figure just looked like mush as it oozed and dripped along his body. His head sharply twitched to the side as he spotted Frisk, the odd permanent black grin on his face sharpening while his hands began to twitch and sign with erratic and uneven motions.

“It has been a long time-” his body fizzled, static popping through his words as his hands clenched and glitched in the air as if reality was trying to tear him apart. Your breath was caught in your throat as you continued to step back, his expression changing into that of irritation as you grabbed onto Frisk's shoulder and spoke up.

“D-don't.. Don't come any closer to us. You said you can help, right?”

His form began to shudder as an odd splitting warble soaked the room, he was laughing as his hands began to oddly move once more, “Yes. But I need you to cooperate with me,” his voice softened ever so slightly but it didn't lower your guard, this monster in front of you looked like he should be in pain. But he made no indication that he could feel anything at all.

“W-what do you need..?” you bit your lower lip as you watched his hands meet in the air before him, his fingertips pressing into each other as disembodied hands were summoned around him. The hands were skeletal in design and each of them had a famliar hole through the palm.

“You're cooperation,” he hummed, the air filled with a heavy pressure that sent your stomach into knots. This was much more foreboding than Sans' magic, the tension felt like it was groping around inside of your skull and left you feeling dizzy, nauseated.

“Heh..” Flowey stuttered, “F-frisk.. lets get out of here. I'm not so sure about this anymore..”

 

Your heart began to race as Gaster face grew with irritation, his smile turning into a scowl as his hands twitched and fidgeted against each other. Even his head shifted and cracked to the side as the floating hands shot through the air directly for the three of you, you let out a startled yell as a hand grabbed onto your arm with a tight grip. You snarled, clawing at the thing as you tried to twist around and make for the door. As you spun you saw Frisk dodging the incoming attack with great finesse. You didn't get the chance to watch for much longer as more hands grabbed your legs, your biceps and your jacket as you tried to pry them off of you in vain. You could feel the bruises forming under such a vice-like grip.

There was no time to think, to say anything as the hands forcibly dragged you into the room. You clutched onto one of the hands, trying to wiggle your fingers beneath it to pry it from your bicep.

Glancing up you saw the monster smiling once more, you could hear the struggle going on behind you and whipped your head around to see Frisk ducking beneath a swiping hand but it snagged onto the backpack with Flowey in it. The child had no choice but to wriggle out from the straps and were thrown to the ground in a huff, a pair of hands grabbing the back of the child's sweater and began pulling them into the room away from the hallway.

“F-frisk! Don't leave me here!” Flowey begged as the hand drug him into the room, but you encouraged the opposite as adrenaline kicked in as you clawed at the fingers catching your flesh. Your scratching resonated hollowly within the skeletal hand and made you cringe at the texture which mimicked that of a chalkboard.

 “Run, Frisk! Get out of here!” you shouted, your soul bursting forth from your chest and coated the room in a flash of yellow light as the hands grabbing at Frisk were dusted. Gaster let out a surprised, static hiss as Frisk flung themselves forward, scrambling to the door and flung it wide open. A new set of hands desperately tried to grab at the back of the child's shirt but Frisk slammed the door behind them with loud BANG, the hands hitting the wood loudly as they clawed and drew deep scratches across the frame.

“How.. interesting..” Gaster snarled, more hands gripping onto your thighs as he drug you over to him. You stumbled, trying to firmly plant your feet into the ground but you just slid closer anyhow. You gasped, a cry bleeding into your voice as he drew you closer and glowered above you. His face was slightly twitching, unstable as his black robes oozed from the neck downwards. He had no real shape besides his face and melted hands and you couldn't help but notice he was focused on your soul which peppered the air with embers of yellow light.

With a shout you attempted to fire straight for him but your golden bullets went straight through him. His form shifting and collecting back together as his body tore holes through it to allow your attacks to miss. You tried to scream but a disembodied hand pressed down over your mouth, with a snarl you managed to pry open your jaws as he held you right beneath him and watched as you sunk your teeth into one of the fingers of the hand. You kept fierce eye contact with the monster as you struggled in his grasp, the whites of his eyes were asymmetrical but startlingly bright. He held you still as if it were nothing, no matter how you tore at your own limbs he kept your arms pressed to your body and held your legs still.

Tears pricked at your eyes, heart racing as the bony texture between your teeth began to creak and groan before finally giving way with a loud crack. A thick, tar like ooze poured into your mouth, spilling over your lips and dribbled down your chin. You immediately began to gag, sputter and cough as the gel coagulated deep in the back of your throat. The taste was horrendous, much like gasoline or grease it stung your nostrils and bit into your gums. The black tar coated your mouth and blocked your airflow, no matter how much you tried to kick, gag or wheeze you couldn't dislodge it. You couldn't make out whatever Flowey was yelling about, your eyes were fixated on the grinning, twitching white face that loomed over you. Gaster watched with great intrigue as the light faded from your eyes. It wasn't long before your vision went completely black, an electrified laughter filling your mind as your body fell limp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to get this chapter out there and published so I could update the tags once more.  
> There will be plenty of time spent with the doctor from here-in. I've always imagined him like a creature from Silent Hill, lots of twitching, odd noises and a overall uncomfortable experience if you're graced the opportunity to ever meet him.
> 
> Ah man let's hope Frisk has a plan B for this shit.


	23. Doctor, your 2:30 appointment is here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake to find yourself trapped with the illusive and mysterious WD Gaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be a long chapter to grab your popcorn, load a separate tag with this song:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK2oQN3FB10 (needed for reference at the end of the chapter, you'll know it when you get to it but overall it's a good mood piece.)  
> Enjoy the ride!
> 
> (And also play the "Downfall" remake on steam. I loved The Cat Lady and this game refreshed my little heart with wonderful inspiration for these next few chapters.)

A soft fluttering against your lips pulled you from your slumber, you let out a deep breath that only increased the odd sensation with an odd aftertaste staining your tongue. Slowly, almost painfully you cracked your eyes open and glanced down while you attempted to focus your vision on the black fuzzy shape sitting atop your face. As the shape became more crisp you found it to be Oliver, he was nestled on your bottom lip but you puffed a bit of air that sent him off of you. He fluttered away above you as you gained your bearings, pulling at your limbs to find that your hands were clasped above your head and your legs were pinned down by those large disembodied hands on some sort of cold, metal table. You could feel their bony fingers digging into your skin around your wrists, thighs and ankles.

Oliver drifted back down onto your face, landing on your cheek which you quickly blew another puff of air at him to send him off. He hovered in your vision for a moment, as if gaining your attention, before drawing your gaze around the room after him as he dove to the left hand side of you. Your breath caught in your throat as the little moth skittered over to the dripping Gaster. He was on the far side of the room but you got a good profile of his cracked face, he seemed to be able to hold his hands and head together rather well but his body was like a horror show. His back seemed broken in multiple places, no real shape or indication of legs while the sleeves of his coat drooled that black ooze.

Clutched in his hands was the backpack, Flowey had ducked his head down into the pack as the doctor brought up his free hand and zipped the sack shut before abruptly turning to you. His quick, unnatural motions stunned you, as he moved the air popped and hissed with static as well as an odd, groaning creak as his head tilted to the side at a sharp angle. Fear sunk into your bones as he lowered his arms and released the strap of the bag which hit the floor in a heap, Gaster's white eyes trained onto you intensely. Oliver was hovering over his master as he watched you for an uncomfortable amount of time.

 

You couldn't take the silence but as you spoke you found your voice soft and raspy, ”W-what are you?”

His sockets blinked a few times, his arms and neck shifting awkwardly as he turned to face you and brought his hands before him. He began to sign at sharp angles, his body creaking and snapping at his wild movements that only unnerved you further and sent your heart to pound in your ears as an odd disjointed voice filled the room. You recognized it as his tone, but you couldn't understand a word he said. His hands halted, studying you as his head lowered and before you could blink he was right up against the table and bore down at you with his curious white eyes flicking over your expression.

You had gasped and tried to recoil, tucking your face into the side of your arm as his presence only made the odd static louder, more grating. You felt a hard, cold thumb press against your chin while curled fingers cupped it and pulled your face towards him. You didn't want to keep looking at this creature, you could only hear Sans' words replay in your head over and over as he loomed closer _'that …_ _ **thing**_ _… is not my dad.'_

Tears built up in your eyes as he studied you, he didn't have a smell and you didn't feel any sort of breath pass through the blackened cracked mouth but the magic radiating from his body felt like a parasite just waiting to bury into your body. Invasive was a light way to put it. You couldn't see Oliver but felt the little moth land onto your arm against your bare skin, during the struggle your jacket must of came disheveled as one of the sleeves had pushed up to your elbow.

This time, as the monster's jaw ticked and moved along with his hands you could hear English though the words were laced heavily with static, “I am WD Gaster-”

“You look nothing like how you did in my dreams..” your eyes narrowed defiantly as Oliver scurried across your skin, the use of this creatures magic must have been the way you could understand him. You tried to pull at your arms, writhing against the table as the monster smiled and continued his hand movements while speaking.

 

“You mean 'once upon a dream'..?” he hummed as he watched your eyes widen, heart sinking through your gut, “You are a very fascinating human, so.. trusting.”

“You sick spying _fuck_ ,” you spat, twisting at your body to try to get loose but the hands were too large, too strong to shake, “What do you want with me?!”

“Your soul,” he replied simply, his hands trembling as he held them still after his signing before lifting a hand to your chest. You felt the tugging call but fought against it, shutting your eyes tightly you let out a cry of frustration as he was forced to tear the soul from your chest. Your breathing shuddered as the effort wracked your ribs and left them incredibly sore as your soul hung above your sternum and emanated it's blissful embers.

“D-don't, _**Stop!**_ ” you shouted but that only earned you a stern glare before a hand grasped your mouth and pulled your head down against the table with a harsh jerk. The blow to the back of your head left your vision swimming, tears slipping down over your cheeks as your eyes trained onto Gaster's face which was illuminated in the soft golden light. He was taking pause, looking over your soul with an experienced stare.

His voice made your soul quiver as inky black tendrils began curling and twisting their way over his extended digits, bringing his hand down to your soul gently, “This will be an uncomfortable experience. The longer you fight me.. the longer you struggle,” his eyes flicked to yours, “the longer it will take. I suggest you submit.”

 

While you were still trying to digest his words he placed three fingertips onto the face of your soul, at first you didn't feel anything but as the inky black tendrils slunk over your soul in thick veins you gasped sharply. It felt as if someone had poured molten led into your heart, forcing it's way through your arteries in a throbbing crawl to which you couldn't even focus coherent thought. Your nostrils were burning at the scent of chlorine, trying to blink away the tears that now flowed freely from your eyes as your screams were muffled by the strong hand grasping at your jaw.

You could feel his fingers digging into your flesh, restraining you as your body writhed in agony on the table. You tried to focus, to grip onto that feeling you had while fighting Flowey and as you felt your soul give a pulse of strength it was quickly sapped away and drained into nothingness. Gaster gave a slight sigh as a shudder shot through his back, setting his free hand onto the table next to you as he held himself up. The hot led was now sinking into your arms and legs, digging into your joints and as you fought. It felt as it gravel were stuffed between your bones as they creaked and groaned.

Giving out a shuddering sob you succumbed to the pain, laying motionless on the table except for your back which writhed on it's own free will under such stress. The pain continued further along your limbs at a faster pace now, reaching the ends after a few more moments of reeling, feeling as if you were going to throw up while struggling to breathe through your nose in deep, wheezing pants. You could feel Gaster shaking next to you, his body seeming to change and compose itself as he literally sucked the life out of you.

Laying there on the table, soaking in sweat you closed your eyes as you sobbed. The hot iron pain ebbed into a solid grip on your bones, it felt as if they were being crushed and compressed with hundreds of pounds weighing on you. Your chest heaved and shuddered under the effort to breathe. As if knowing the disembodied hand loosened over your mouth before dissolving back into the air, you hardly noticed the other restraints follow suit as a different grip inside of you held you captive. Gasping and wheezing you struggled to stay conscious, the only thought in your mind now was how stupid you were for falling for another monster's trap. Sans had tried to protect you from this, he knew what it would have spelled for you and Frisk if you found Gaster.

Your hips and spine creaked, a deep ache throbbing in your joints as you heard the monster above you gasp and sputter as if breaching the water. The man clutched to the table, static popping loudly in your ears along with the sounds of strained tearing. Weakly your eyes fluttered open to witness the doctors body contort, convulse and take shape ever so slowly. His shoulders cracked, popped and protruded oddly from his trunk as his form became taller, slender. The doctors face was also hardening, his jawline became more pointed as his sockets became clearer, more crisp and the longer the process went the more he looked like he had in the dreams he approached you in.

Gaster's black gooey form tightened, faded it's shiny surface and melted away from both his neck and chest to reveal a light gray turtleneck while the black ink formed into a dark lab coat that tailored to his broadening, evening shoulders. The monster began to wheeze, a deep struggling sound that soon dissolved into laughter. Over his last few breaths the static was shaken from his tone while your eyes just rolled back into your head, the tight pressure seeping into the marrow through your entire form. Tears flowed freely down your gasping, sweat drenched features as you realized this is how you would die.

Music began to fill the room, the soft melody being one of your favorite songs and you found it funny that your brain would show you this before your memories of life. Gaster flinched and straightened himself, looking down to your stomach as a soft light beamed up through the fabric in a blue rectangle. His hand drew up and away from your soul, the inky tentacles wanting to cling to you like thick goop but as he drew farther away they eventually snapped from your weak, amber throbbing soul. Bits of the black gunk still clung to your soul as he shook the hand off to the side of the table and splattered the floor with the thick mess as his sleeve began to form itself and solidify into fabric.

The music stopped suddenly. You didn't feel any better from him removing himself from you, your bones ached, your head throbbed and you lay in a cold sweat with your heart nearly pounding out of your chest. It was like getting hit by a train and waking up with a massive hangover to top it off. Your vision blurred as you blinked away another set of tears, pulling at your arms to lower them and groaned with the effort to settle them beside you with your palms up.

Gaster closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath as he hoisted himself upright before finally exhaling and peered down to you with a large smile cut across his face. You could only pant, the residual effects of whatever he did to you were doing a great deal of damage to every fiber of your being and even seeing your soul a sickly, faded amber couldn't rouse much of a reaction from your clouded mind that was just thankful for the searing pain to be done and over with. You hardly even felt Oliver crawl across your skin as it was such a gentle sensation to the overwhelming pain you had just survived.

The man opened his mouth but was cut by the same music playing again, a light from your pocket catching his attention. You whimpered as his hand slid into your pocket and pulled out your cellphone, pinching it between his fingers as he looked at the screen. Gaster glanced down to you before cupping the phone in his holed palm before taking his other hand and swiped across the surface slowly.

You hoped that he had hung up, but that familiar voice tickled just within range of your muddy hearing that your soul painfully pulsed at, _“finally you answer, it kept going straight to voicemail- where the fuck are you?!-”_

Gaster's undamaged brow slowly lifted, his gaze turning back down towards you as he held the phone in his hand and took his free one to stuff it inside of his coat pocket, Sans continued to press on in a panicked state, _“frisk and I have been running around the waterfall for days- hey, I need you to talk to me..”_

Days..? No.. you had only been in here for an hour maximum but he drown your thoughts as he became more desperate, Gaster remained relatively emotionless, _“c'mon. talk to me- tell me where you are!”_

Ever so slowly Gaster brought the phone up to the side of his face, turning to look more clearly at you as you laid there motionless on the table. Even if you wanted to move you just didn't have the strength for anything besides breathing, Sans' desperation cracked his voice as he begged, _**“you bastard what have you done to her?!”**_

“Nothing she won't be able to recover from,” his voice was smooth, sophisticated yet you could still lightly make out his coat shifting from his hand twitching as he spoke. There was a long pause but Gaster was a patient man, he kept his eyes locked onto yours as Sans' reverberating growl pressed through the receiver.

_“i will fucking_ _**kill** _ _you.”_

“Leaving me in the void not satisfying enough, son?” Gaster stated, lacking any sort of emotion.

_“i swear to god I will fucking find you and make you_ _**eat shit** _ _for saying that pandering_ _**cock patting** _ _to me.”_

“Such vulgarity,” the doctor drew in a breath, enjoying the sensation as he exhaled thoughtfully, “sad how a human girl managed to free me from that hell I spent eons in while my layabout son slept, per usual.”

Your neck relaxed, shifting your head to the side as you fought against your eyelids from closing. Your body began to shiver, your skin cold and clammy as you tried to focus on the buttons on Gaster's lab coat to stay awake.

_“fuck off you sick, twisted **cunt**.what did you do to her-? let her go!”_

“Hmmn?” he purred coyly, “Ah, yes. She is here with me,” he lowered the phone down to your face, your eyelids fluttering as you flicked your gaze to the screen and were met with a picture of Sans' smug grin. It illuminated the glass and now not only did your body and soul ache but now your heart did as well. Gaster spoke a tad louder, projecting his voice, “Go on.”

“S..Sa..ns..” you whispered, your voice collapsing while your eyelids dropped. Gaster pulled the phone back to his face while you could vaguely hear the skeleton completely losing it on the other end of the line. The last thing you remember hearing before fading away was the doctors serious words bouncing off of the walls of the room.

“Bring me another human soul to trade for the girl. You have three days.”

 

***

 

Gaster drew the phone away from his face to look at the screen, it was such an odd design for a cellphone. He hardly paid attention to his son spitting venom on the other end before he ended the call and swiped through the phones various applications and files. The man found it interesting there were no interdimensional boxes but what else would he expect from simple humans?

He shut the device off to prevent any further interruptions and turned his focus back on the girl sprawled across the table, the residual strands of his magic throbbing against her soul like leeches. Not too surprising she was still alive, her soul had such an excess amount of energy and he put it to good use. He reached his hand out to guide the battered and worn soul, still stained with his magic, back into the humans chest which gave him no resistance this time.

The scientist drew in another breath, the feeling being so foreign and yet so.. nice. It paired well to the affirmation that he existed once more, without that cellphone call reaching them he wouldn't have been sure. A slight chuckle rumbled through his chest, the vibrations tickling as he pocketed the cell phone next to an old pair of glasses that had miraculously been recovered with the rest of his body. He didn't need his glasses to see any longer, he felt power more than he had ever felt before. The human's soul reconstructed his body, pulled him into this reality and the monster could even feel his own white, cracked soul thrum with yellow light.

He pulled his hand from his lab coat and poised it in the air, slightly turning it as he called the moth back from the girl to his hand. As it perched upon him he heard a shuffling across the room to which he slowly drew his eyes towards. Oliver's form bled onto the mans hand, dripping and oozing as it was absorbed into Gaster's body from whence it came.

Flowey's vines had managed to unzip the bag, his head sticking up barely through the zipper with an expression of pure horror rendering his petals to pathetic trembling. The king's son had always been a cry baby, perhaps it was a good thing that monsters no longer relied on the monarchy as Gaster knew this child would never have the grit to lead. The man turned his attention to the bag and began to make strides across the room, his legs strong beneath his form and only filled him with a rebounding confidence that reflected in his expressionless face.

As he neared the flower ducked his head inside of the bag. Gaster summoned a skeletal hand to snatch up the sack and brought it to eye level, his shoulders drawn back and chin up he gazed down into the bag at the trembling silhouette. To think this monster had killed his sons numerous times left him with a deep, vengeful itch.

“Do you believe that actions have consequences..?” the doctor asked, noting how the air pressed through his skull as he spoke. It was so much easier than using magic.

The flower merely laughed nervously, pressing further into the back of the bag, “H-hey I was just kidding, I didn't mean to break his rib- I mean I didn't know for sure he was your kid-” Flowey stopped as the mans gaze remained cold, distant.

“I wonder just how much determination that woman used to make you, how much I could squeeze from such a sniveling child,” the Flower stuttered, unable to think of something to say as Gaster lightly raised his hand over the top of the bag, “shall we see for the sake of science?”

“N-no, what are you doing-?!” Flowey shouted as the mans hand began to slightly melt into black droplets, once they hit the air they scattered into small black moths of various sizes. He sent a dozen inside of the bag and with a quick motion he sealed the top to muffle the monsters cries of terror. The innocent cries sounded familiar.. it almost tugged at his soul, but not quite. He remained still, listening to the struggle as his moths coated the child and drew energy from him. He frowned, without a soul this wouldn't really work but as Flowey shouted and writhed in the bag that odd twinge crawled to the forefront of his mind but before he could solidify the emotion he felt something grip onto the back of his coat.

With an annoyed sigh he turned to look over his shoulder and found the human girl gripping to him, she could barely stand with her eyes bloodshot and skin looking a shade of blue she managed to whisper, “j-just.. let him go.”

The corners of his mouth twitched but she continued, “You got .. what you wanted..” her legs were shaking terribly but she held onto the will to keep standing, it was fascinating, “let us.. go home.”

 

A soft chuckle rose in his throat as he turned away from the backpack and twisted his body to look down at the frail human clutching his coat, “My dear, work has just begun.”

His hands reached out to catch her as her legs gave way, with a slight grunt he knelt down to swipe an arm behind the backs of her knees before straightening up with her cradled against his broad chest. He found her weak struggles amusing as she tried to push her legs and press away from his chest but as he gave the room a once last glance over, backpack floating behind him in tow, she soon gave up. A final farewell to what had been his prison, _'Good riddance'_ he thought bitterly as he eagerly felt through his increased magic pool.

Darkness swept the three of them away, the g-forces were exhilarating to the scientist and as he found himself in the halls of his old laboratory the woman in his grasp whimpered and struggled to breathe. Her soft whimpers didn't distract him as he made his way down the hall deep within the Core, passing by a small kitchen and sitting area and to a hallway with a set of doors along them. He chose the closest one to open and found the room more or less as he left it, a small bed on the far end with a table beside it pressed to the wall.

He summoned a hand to swipe off the dusty top sheet before laying the human onto the mattress, she was much smaller than he was but yet had so much fight still sparking in her soul as she shoved away from his arms. He liked that. It made him wonder if her soul would ever recover to the point of overcharging like it had been before he used it. He straightened back up as his summoned hand threw the backpack onto the bed beside the girl, he heard the monster inside hiss and spit at the act while the girl struggled to reach for the pack and drew it to her chest to protect in her arms. She glared up at him, her brow coated in sweat, he knew she was in pain, he could feel it quaking in her soul wrapped in his magic. Yet she remained resolute.

All in all, she posed no threat. He watched her for a bit, seeing her ravaged body shudder and heave with the effort to stay conscious. He smirked, these next few experiments would be very, very interesting. The man slowly turned and made his way back to the door, slipping his hands into his coat pockets as he passed through the door and had his summoned hand grab the knob and close it with a satisfying bang. There was a lot of work to do to get his lab up and running again but he didn't mind, he embraced the cold atmosphere of his old home as he strode down the hall to start in his work space. He would have to have the machines ready for either the next human soul, or for the girls recovered one. It didn't matter which but he hoped it would be the girl, she could supply him with as much material he could ever need. The catch was that he would have to keep her but that thought only tickled his mind, owning such a useful resource such as her would be irreplaceable.

He did the honors of opening a set of metal double doors to the wide room of his work space, papers strewn about coated in a good layer of dust as well as various machines. His smile broadened as he stepped inside, the doors shutting behind him with another resonating bang that echoed down the hall.

 

***

A soft bang woke you from your dazed state of mind, it sounded as if it came from deeper within the facility Gaster had teleported you to. You were so sore, so exhausted and drained that you hardly had the energy to lift your hand but did so anyways as Flowey was wriggling and talking so fast you knew he was beyond irate. Slowly you pulled the zipper back to have the flower shoot up through the top and take a gulp of fresh air, shaking a few moths from his petals before he glared down at you as you let your body fall onto your side and brought the flower with you.

The embrace of the cold sheets sent a wild shiver through your body, it was already trembling but it added an extra dose of discomfort as tears stung your eyes. Every breath was a struggle, your chest was wrenched in a vice like grip as your soul throbbed almost as if it was weeping. You could hardly process what the flower was saying, your eyelids flicking closed.

“Hey! Sun, c'mon we have to get out of here no time for naps,” the flower growled, you felt a light slapping of his leaves against your cheek but you didn't respond to it. You wanted to go unconscious and wake up from this nightmare, wake up next to Sans in the morning light like you had earlier today.. or days if what Sans was saying was true.

“Are you even listening to me? He's going to _kill me_ we have to find a way out,” Flowey begged, his petals shivering.

“What do you want me to do..?” you breathed, hardly audible, “Beat him up..?”

“He's a freaking giant-” the flower sighed, dripping with anger, “No! I just want you to get up and help me open the damn door so we can get out of here. I bet he took us to the true lab, I'd know this tile anywhere.”

You wanted to laugh but your lips only twitched into a shallow smile, drifting in and out as an exhale strained through your chest. You felt the flower's light slapping began stinging your cheek but you didn't care.

“I said to get up!”

This continued for another ten minutes but you had passed out well within the first few seconds. Flowey was left alone. To busy himself he began to scare away the moths coating the inside of the backpack with his tiny vines, scattering them into the room. He sighed and nestled inside of the back pack, resting the side of his face into the silky fabric as he stared up out of the crack and to your chest where he could see a barely visible orange pulse. A dark inky blotch stained across the surface of your soul as it beat weakly within you, as he watched a realization dawned on him. He was scared.

 

***

 

It was nearly a full day before your eyes opened again. Flowey helped coach you into a seated position against the cold wall and handed you the eatables from the bag that Frisk had packed. You greedily consumed the first bottle of water and meal bar before you moved onto the second water bottle and drank more frugally from it as you chowed down on the second bar. Glancing around the room you found a few moths hanging out on the white walls, they kept their distance from you though overall the room was small and bland.

Your rib cage felt as if it was being crushed, your muscles ached as you finished eating and while the food helped settle your stomach and clear your head it didn't do much for your pained soul. You could feel it inside of you, trembling with an odd greasy stain lingering upon it. Flowey broke through your haze as he spoke up.

“You were out for a long time..” he said.

“Yeah..” your voice was raspy, throat a tad sore as you took another swallow of water and sighed, “What are we going to do, Flowey?”

“Escape.. somehow,” he murmured, glancing over the room at the moths.

“He's listening to us you know..” your eyelids drooped, “Maybe he will just get bored of us if we don't react to him.”

“That wont work-” Flowey scoffed as if from personal experience, “though.. I am curious..”

You raised an eyebrow, looking to the flower drowsily.

“He didn't actually.. _take_ your soul. He could have just killed you and absorbed your soul, I wonder why he didn't.”

“.. That doesn't make me feel much better if that's what you were going for,” you dead panned.

“No no, hear me out.. He wants to keep you alive for some reason. So..” his voice lowered, “get on his good side and when he let's his guard down let's give him the slip.”

You chuckled, wincing as your joints creaked, “He's not stupid.. just because tricks worked on us doesn't mean he will fall for it. I guess we just have to accept what's coming..”

You had no more tears to shed, the honest truth was sealed away within your heart and you knew it was time to pay the piper for your mistakes. Flowey wasn't accepting this as he shook with anger, “You're just giving up?”

“What else can we do..? He's too strong.. I'm too weak.. and you're just a flower,” you lightly flicked a petal to which he snarled at, “with no soil to draw your power from.”

“If you give up he's gonna kill me,” he chuckled with strain, “do you not get that?”

You let out a breath, pushing back against the wall as you slid your legs out straight across the bed and rested your head against the wall, “Then I guess.. it's been fun knowing you Flowey.”

His eyes widened, grin turning into a panicked frown as you went on, “Really.. my life was so boring before, almost meaningless. I guess I had a sense of purpose after meeting you, fighting you.. I got to experience something almost.. well, like family. Dysfunctional, yes.. But a family regardless.”

Silence fell upon the room as you focused on your breathing, attempting to dissolve into a meditative state to distract you from any anxiety that tried to grip you. Panic wouldn't solve anything.

 

“..I've felt that before,” the flower murmured, resting his leaves on the edges of the backpack as he studied the metal zipper, “When Chara came.. a piece of my life was filled. I had someone to play with and my parents accepted them just as Frisk accepted me.. Even though Chara could be kind of mean.. or scary.. they were patient with them.”

You listened to the flower as he opened up, you didn't know if it was true at this point but relaxed to the conversation, “..Why?” he asked. You perked up and hummed lightly, questioning him.

“..Why are people so forgiving of the bad things other people do?” he clarified.

“.. Not everyone can forgive, some may never forgive another for the bad things they've done depending on their track record or sincerity.. But I guess, if I were to narrow it down to a person like Frisk.. They just believe in the good in everyone. Mistakes don't make a person.. repeat action makes a person. In Frisk's case the repeated action to forgive.. to spare others.. it says a lot about their own character, while some may view it as naive.. I view it as.. hopeful.”

Flowey remained quiet for some time, you added another bit to the silence, “Is it so bad to have hope for the people you love?”

“But why would Frisk love a monster like me? I have no soul. I don't feel anything most of the time. I hurt people.. What would they see in a thing like me?”

You mused at this, a smile pulling at your lips, “Because you're family, Flowey.”

He became slightly irritated, “But _why?_ What makes me family?”

“Frisk went back for you, right?” you paused, keeping your eyes closed as you continued, “They wanted you in their life, whether or not you were Flowey or Asriel.. regardless of the bad you had done. I think Frisk sees a friend they didn't have before all of this. Like how you had Chara.. sure you can be a shitlord-” you heard him snicker, “but you have a different relationship with Frisk than I. They believe in you. They.. they love you, they never gave up on you. That makes you family.”

You felt a pressure on your soul, wincing you lifted a hand and placed it over your sternum to quell the ache but it remained. You smiled through the pain as a thought popped into your mind, “I guess.. you're family to me too now. I wanted to help you, so you could live with your parents again. Call me a sap but I think making amends, healing and moving on if at all possible is the best thing to do. Not all families can do this, but for some.. for some it can if everyone is willing to sacrifice and work towards that trust. If we get out of here.. I'd like that chance with you, Flowey.”

He stayed silent, you didn't mind. You weren't sure what was going to happen next as you sat in the cold room, feeling the moth's staring at the both of you. Thinking about the situation was fruitless, no form of plan seemed to work as you had no idea where you were and felt sick as a dog. You couldn't afford to waste precious energy fighting and Flowey was right, he hadn't killed you, but it didn't guarantee Flowey a 'safe for now' ticket. You saw the scientist had animosity towards the flower but you knew trying to protect him would just be a waste of time and precious energy. Gaster was smart, you'd have to out fox him and playing along was the only viable option for now.

 

Dozing in and out of sleep you lost track of time, Flowey had been silent ever since your last words seemingly sent him to his thoughts. The sound of the door opening drew your eyelids to flutter open, adjusting to the brightness of the room as the tall monster stepped inside towards the both of you. He wore a neutral expression, hands placed behind his back as he stood tall before the both of you. A pair of summoned hands gently went to the backpack and scooped it off of your lap with Flowey inside, he huddled down in the bag and shook quietly.

You kept your tired gaze on the man, looking him straight in the eyes as he locked onto yours. An awkward silence fell across the room, a battle of wills building in the air for one to break eye contact with the other as a sign of submission. You blinked slowly, he drooped his eyelids but remained still. With not either of you seeming to give up anytime soon you figured to strike up a conversation to pass the time of the stare off, you chose your words carefully.

“What happened,” you murmured, “between you and Sans..?”

He leaned down over top of you, casting his shadow across your form as he muttered, “An eternity.”

That wasn't really what you expected. He leaned closer as you blinked up at him while subconsciously pressing back against the wall, he brought his hand down to cup your chin in a familiar fashion which was rather firm. A chill ran through your spine as he tilted your head up, his eyes peering down at you curiously almost with a twinge of affection that made you want to gag as he purred.

“Which is the same amount of time you will spend with me, my dear,” a rock formed in your gut as a slight heat pressed into your face, you jerked your head out of his grip and to the side as you caved and broke eye contact. He chuckled, placing his hand on the wall above you to steady himself as his face dipped down to your ear as he hummed above a whisper.

“You'll love me at once, the way you did once upon a dream..” his breath was hot against your skin, his scent gentle and masculine which for some reason made your flushing worse, cringing down into yourself as you glared off to the spot on the bed beside you. Your jaw was tightly clenched as he lightly laughed at your uncomfortable posture, you seriously wanted him to just leave at this point but he hovered over you while drawing in a breath. A sickly warm tendril slid up across the base of your neck in a light caress, you yelped as you turned your gaze back to him to catch a glimpse of a black transparent tongue snapping back into his jagged maw.

You sat in shock, bouncing your eyes up into his and as he stared you found yourself quickly recoiling and averted your eyes as an odd itch tugged at your soul. He chuckled but drew himself back up and pressed away from the wall before turning to walk about of the room, the disembodied hand floating on after him with the bag in tow. Flowey's head poked up through the opening to look at you before the door shut behind the scientist.

Slowly you regained your breath, touching your stained neck as you realized you were blushing and fought down the sick feeling building in your throat. He wasn't going to let you live that down. You groaned and hid your face in your hands, drawing your knees to your chest. He had outsmarted you, this monster was so unpredictable and just strange you felt your confidence bleed out. You crossed the possibility of challenging to him straight off of your list, he was clearly insane.

 

***

The next few hours were painfully dull. You managed to curl up on your side, your back to the door and suppressed the memory of earlier as far out of your mind as you could. You dozed a few times, the cat napping helped clear your head and after the third bout of sleep your soul felt a tad stronger, your limbs less heavy but your stomach began to tighten at the thought of food. That train of thought brought you to thinking of what sounded good but somehow that ended up on Gaster's tongue tasting your skin and you flushed before hiding your face in your palms with a groan.

You rolled over, looking around the room to find the moths still hanging around on the walls though they have moved around over time. Managing to pull yourself up from the mattress you stumbled but managed to right yourself, you took a moment to stretch to which your shoulders, neck and back all gave satisfying pops and cracks to. The moth's didn't like the noises though, they fluttered around the room before settling back down.

Making your way to the door you realized it had a window, small and covered with thick glass you stood on your tip toes to try looking out around the hallway. You could only see the opposite wall which was blank, the frame of another door just barely out of view and no matter how you craned to get a glimpse your field of vision was just much too small. Sighing you took a step back and looked over the door, there was no way you could break it down and the thought of trying to call your souls power made your chest ache.

Your eyes landed on the doorknob, you shrugged and reached for it. You didn't expect the door to be unlocked, you let the heavy metal swing open and just stared at it. _'Seriously..?'_ You shook off the shock and leaned out into the hall, looking both ways and being met with nothing, you couldn't even hear anything besides the light bulbs in the ceiling humming. To the right led a long hallway which eventually ended in double doors, lining the hall were a few more metal doors like yours and to the left the hall led into an open room though you couldn't really see what was in it from here.

Stepping into the hall you made the decision to try the door across from yours, it was also unlocked and led into a bathroom. It was decently sized, larger than the one in your apartment and was spotless as if no one had lived here or used it in years. You curiously tried the tap and found it to work just fine, you quickly went back to your room to fill up the water bottles sitting on the edge of the bed and returned them in your room just in case. You shut your door carefully before also closing the bathroom door before heading to the left towards the open room, you blinked as you were met with a sitting room and an adjacent kitchen. Further down there was an elevator but it looked broken, the metal doors slightly busted and sat at an odd angle.

A rumble tore through your stomach, you pressed your hands into your gut and spun around expecting your noises to draw the doctor but all remained still. Sighing softly you tiptoed passed the couches and to the kitchen, snooping through cabinets to be met with empty shelves and a few pots and pans. You opened the fridge as a last ditch effort and found it to not even be cold but sitting inside was an unopened large box of instant noodles. You weren't even sure how old these were but didn't really care at this point as you carefully used your fingertips to pierce and tear the plastic as you pilfered a few packs and shut the door. You were about to head back to the room but hesitated. Noodles were so much better actually made than just dry.

You stood, feeling anxious as you weighed your options. Gaster hadn't been back for hours and the last time it took him to get back to you it felt like a day had passed, you felt it was okay to chance it. You grabbed a pan, washing it out in the sink as quietly as possible before filling it up and set it on the stove top before turning on the flame. Sighing in relief as it ignited. You waited for the water to boil, the most tense few minutes of your life, before breaking apart the noodle brick and let it soften up in the hot water. You perused for a fork through the various drawers and while you found odds and ends like pens, wire, electrical tape and gold coins you finally found a drawer with utensils.

 _'Where are the knives..?'_ you thought, a weapon of some kind could come in handy but you couldn't find any. You'd just have to stick with your trusty fork. You used the tool to break apart the noodles and mix in the flavoring. You let the flavor simmer for another minute or so before turning off the stove and lifted the pot, you'd just have to eat it then and there which you did greedily. With each bite you felt your soul revitalize, your body aches ebb and by the time you finished off the broth you felt much better than before.

Anxiety crept back into your spine as you quickly washed out the pot and set it back where you found it, stuffing the excess packets you snagged into your jacket and you even placed the fork inside of your bra at the side of your breast with the prongs facing upwards. Your jacket was thick enough to hide it which you were thankful for, you made a few practice movements for grabbing it as you meandered back into the sitting room. This place felt like a really messed up research facility.

You figured it would be best to deposit your treasure in your room in case Gaster did lock it the next time. Carefully padding across the room you slipped through your door and glanced around, finding the best hiding place to be on the opposite side of the nightstand where you set your water bottles. It wasn't the best stash but it would have to do for now. You knew you would go crazy just sitting in this room so you ventured back out, the metal of the fork imprinting into your skin as you went back into the lounge area.

You found your vision drawing back at the elevator so you quickly made your way over to it. As you peered inside your hopes were dashed, you could sort of see the car at the bottom of the shaft a good few floors below and looking up you couldn't see the top. The cables hung rusted and snapped in front of you, you gripped onto the sides of the doors to steady yourself as you peered around the shaft trying to spot maybe a ladder but instead you felt an odd twitching on your soul as hard fingers wrapped around your waist.

With a gasp you were pulled back away from the elevator shaft, you snarled and dug your feet into the floor as you tore at the hands grabbing your midsection but were only met with a breathy laugh. Your back was drawn into something hard and warm. The edges of a black coat draped over your shoulders you felt your heart stop, scrambling against the hands which had drawn up your chest with one arm hooked tightly across your ribs. The other made it's way up to your collarbone, sharp claws dragging along your delicate skin as a hum vibrated against your back in a deep wave.

A whimper left your throat as you tried to grab at his encroaching arm, your fingertips tearing at the black sleeve helplessly as the backs of Gaster's fingers caressed the side of your neck before trailing down inside of your tank top.

“Ah how fun you are..” he cooed, the tips of his fingers pressing along the side of your breast before his fingers caught onto the fork and drew it out of your bra with a quick motion. He held it between his digits as he seemed amused at the twinkling metal, you squirmed in his arm but he was much too strong for you.

“I wondered how long it would take you to wander on your own, though I'd much rather not lose you to such an inane method of suicide,” he said rather flatly, his deep voice resonating within his chest which you were pressed into.

“I-i wasn't going to kill myself what the fuck-” you were shushed by a disembodied hand pressing a finger to your lips, your eyebrows scrunched in irritation as you looked up and found Gaster idly looking at the fork before tossing it down the elevator shaft. It fell end over end as it clanked loudly all the way to the bottom while the hand pulled from your lips to join another as they gripped into the metal. The surface broke and gave way to the harsh grip of the skeletal hands before they pulled together, effectively closing off the shaft in a high pitched grinding.

You cringed at the harsh noise before twisting around in his arm, he finally released you and you stumbled forward to catch yourself on the now closed metal doors. You didn't want to face him but also didn't want your exposed back to him either, slowly you turned and tried to keep your shoulders squared with confidence as you looked to Gaster. He never seemed to really emote very much, his hands were pressed together and formed a soft triangle between his extended thumb and index fingers which pointed down to the floor.

 

“Why won't you just let me leave? You got what you wanted,” you pressed, folding your arms across your chest as he dead panned.

“Collateral”

“For _what?_ ” you heaved, your shoulders slouching.

“I need another human soul for my next project, without it I would need to wait weeks for your soul to be ready for.. harvesting.”

Your face scrunched in disgust at the choice of words, “ _Harvest?_ You would _harvest_ me?! What do I look like to you, a puppy mill?!”

A smirk cracked into his white face, his eyelids drooping ever so slightly, “If I am correct puppy mills are for breeding..?”

God damnit. A blush crept into your cheeks as you shook your head, flinging your arms forward with your palms towards him, “Fucking.. Christ, No! _**No.**_ That's not what I meant-” you drew your arms back in, pinching the bridge of your nose as you closed your eyes and exhaled to ease your shaky body and muttered, “these monsters are going to be the end of me.”

Gaster found your reactions grade A interesting, he waited patiently for you to speak up as that smirk only twitched into a deeper one.

“So, you're saying you would literally drain my soul like that for the rest of my life?” you asked, letting the hand fall from your face as you looked up to him painfully.

“Your soul is the first I've seen to radiate energy, it is.. overcharged. Although the healing process will be longer for it to restore to it's original state, though..” his gaze flicked up and down over your body before landing back on your face, “there are.. interesting alternatives to waiting alone.”

You didn't like where this was going. He casually set his hands into the pockets of his lab coat, taking pause before continuing, “For you see, the soul naturally reacts to the things we enjoy. Food, comfort.. sex,” he tilted his head slightly, his eyelids drooping as he watched you press back against the metal doors.

“I have a theory and if you wouldn't mind indulging me, my dear,” he took a strong step forward, you only pressed tighter against the cold metal as you watched with wide eyes. Bracing yourself to try to run you flicked your eyes around the room but you knew there was nowhere to go, he was too fast, too tall to try to overpower. You were trapped.

He came to a stop a few feet before you and pulled his right hand from his lab coat before flipping a small device in his hollowed palm so it hung forward towards you, pinched between his thumb and index finger. It was your cellphone. You instantly relaxed, letting out a strained sigh as you looked from the phone and up to his face. He stood still for a moment before nudging the air with the device, urging you to take it.

“What's the catch..?” you asked, suspicion dripping from your words as you eyed him.

“Two minutes, that's all I'll allow,” he stated.

“Two minutes.. for what..?” you slowly lifted your hand, reaching out for the device but there was still a bit of distance between you two. He made you take a few steps forward as he kept his arm rather lax.

“A phone call. I assume you wish to speak with Sans, yes?” his smile softened as you came forward towards him and gripped onto the other end of the phone. You took it from his grasp carefully, he slid his hand back into the lab coat and lifted his chin a tad as you stared at the blank screen. Absentmindedly you let your fingertips tap over the home button, not really pushing it but just feeling the surface as you bit into the side of your cheek.

You set your fingers on the power button, not yet pressing it as you look up to his face which still held the faint traces of his smile. The thought of calling Sans, hearing him.. it made your soul quiver. He must be worried out of his wits but would a phone call with you even help? You only had two minutes to which Gaster would probably supervise. You didn't know where you were, Sans obviously didn't know either as he hadn't teleported into the facility, you didn't know what the 'true lab' meant, so how could you make anything better? You'd caused so many problems for him and this was the largest mistake yet, anxiety chewed at your gut as you battled internally with your heart and your mind. You wanted to badly to remain tactful about your situation.

 

“Hmmn.. Did I assume incorrectly?” the doctors voice brought your gaze back up to him solemnly. You didn't know if you could do it. You chuckled meekly as you stood still, looking back down to the phone and murmured.

“Maybe with a fifth of whiskey..” a smirk cracked on your lips, the thought of turning your cellphone on and getting flooded with messages made you feel sick. The man turned and stepped away from you which caught your attention, he walked a few more steps before motioning with a hand for you to follow him. You didn't, at first, but curiosity began to eat at you and it wasn't like there was anything else to do. You padded after the monster but kept your distance.

He led you down the hall, nearing the double doors but he took you by surprise and opened the last door on the right which led to another short hallway. You tentatively followed, the door slamming shut behind you as you followed him through a short hallway with two doors. He opened the farthest one and stepped in to which you followed, greeted by a large room. It was a brilliant study, the walls lined with bookshelves as a hefty table stood further into the room with a large black leather office chair. Various papers were strewn across the dark wood, it looked hand carved and must have been passed down.

You stood awkwardly in the center of the room as he made his way over to the far book shelf, snatching up a large glass bottle but you were too interested in the desk to watch him. It called you over to it as it looked so very old, antique. It must have seen so many things in it's lifetime. You were running your fingertips across it's scratched glossy surface before you were startled from your musings by the scientist standing before you with a glass in each hand filled halfway with amber liquid.

You raised a brow but slowly took the glass from him, he took a seat in the large office chair that suited him well. He observed as you looked around the room once more, stunned by how much paper was crammed into the space. You were drawn back to the scientist as he cleared his throat lightly, you looked at him right as he was taking a drink.

Reminded of the glass in your hand you looked down into the cup, you didn't know monsters drank or had access to alcohol in the underground. You lightly lifted the glass to your lips, inhaling the smokey scent and let the drink touch your lips. It was definitely alcohol, you swiped your tongue across your lips and identified the drink as some kind of scotch. Very strong scotch. Oh what the hell, you knocked back the drink and suppressed your coughing as it burned it's way down your throat and warmed your stomach.

The scientist allowed his eyes to droop a tad more as he watched you sputter and flush, he took another drink from the glass without any form of reaction and gestured to the table lightly with his opposite hand. Blinking away tears you gathered he wanted you to sit, you didn't really feel like challenging him again so you obeyed. Slipping up onto the end of the table and let your legs dangle off of the edge, you set the glass down beside you as you stared at the phone in your hands. This monster was confusing you, you thought he was keeping you prisoner and he made that clear when he spoke about reusing your soul over and over again. The memory of the pain you endured made your joints ache, you didn't know if you could survive through that again. But if he just wanted to use you why was he letting you have free reign of the floor? Why did he give you back your phone? What was he doing?

“I don't understand what you want from me,” you began, the scientist leaned back farther in his chair and listened, “Once minute you're torturing me, the next you're.. being really.. touchy, and now you're giving my phone back and having drinks with me in this weird room-” you dropped the phone on your lap, pulling your hands up into your face. Out of all the monsters you had encountered, this one was by far the hardest to understand. The most frustrating to deal with, you weren't sure how to act around the man without setting off some weird psychological challenge with him that he always won right off the bat.

A disembodied hand refilled your glass, setting the quarter full bottle back onto the desk but the man didn't respond. It forced you to pull your hands away from your face and look towards him, he seemed lost in thought as he trailed his gaze to the shelves in front of you. You couldn't be tricky or manipulative with this monster, you couldn't be blatantly challenging him either.. but what if you set up a neutral playing field like the start of a game where either of you could lose. You were running out of ideas, this was the next best thing. You would either learn something valuable from the man or, hopefully, slow him down so you could explore the other rooms without him stopping you like he had at the elevator.

The silence ticked on for a few more minutes as you gathered your courage before you drew in a breath and spoke, “Let's play a game,” that caught his attention as his white eyes flicked back to you, “We can ask each other any questions we want, but if we don't want to answer we have to take a drink as a form of a 'pass'. We stop when one of us has had two full glasses, I've technically already had one so you've got an advantage. Whoever wins can ask a favor from the loser, and it can be anything. They can't refuse.”

You pulled your legs up onto the table, crossing them as you turned your body to face him. You kept the phone in your lap but picked up the refilled glass and stared into his eyes, it was out of habit and it was too late to break the staring contest as you found him slowly swivel the office chair to fully face you.

“You seem like the kind of guy who likes knowledge for knowledge sake.. you can go first,” you tried to stay calm, breathing deeply as the first fuzzy effects of alcohol relaxed your sore muscles. If you could get him at least slightly intoxicated it could buy you more time to snoop around, find Flowey and try to find a way out. Then you could call Sans with an actual plan and no damsel in distress bullshit, you felt your soul pulse with purpose which sent an ache through your chest. The discomfort distracted you from noticing Gaster's eyes dilating.

 

“Why do you own a cat?” he mused.

You blinked, not really expecting that but anything the doctor did took you completely off guard. He was up to something, but you couldn't exactly place what that was. You answered honestly, looking down to your glass as you rotated it slowly, “I don't know.. I guess I just like how gentle they are. They don't need all the attention a dog needs, they're just satisfied to be with me when it's quiet at night.”

You heard him make a soft humming noise as you searched for just the right question, your eyes drew back up to the man and you took note of how the light reflected against the perfectly round hole through his palm. He caught you looking at it but you spoke regardless, “Does that hurt..?”

His eyes flicked to his hand, his smile twitching into a smirk as he stated, “No.”

That's it. Nice and slow. You'd have to build up towards the heavier questions, maybe you could get something valuable from him otherwise you'd default to try getting him drunk. He laid his next question on you while bringing an ankle up onto his knee, the rest of his body was rather lanky compared to his sharp, broad shoulders.

“What do you consider to be a 'quiet night'?”

Looking over his facial features you came to the conclusion he was being genuine, but it hit a sensitive spot within your heart. You spent many lonely nights by yourself, where the silence became deafening and you were too tired to sleep. When your body would ache and you'd find tears staining your cheeks without even realizing they'd spilled.

You couldn't risk lying to him, he was too observant for that so instead you tried to keep your answer short and sweet, “When the loneliness, the silence, get's too loud,” you shrugged.

He understood. It was your turn to speak, “What exactly.. happened to your hands?”

The man met your gaze, his smirk returning as he kept eye contact with you before taking a good drink from his glass. Damn it. Learning about the monster would help you figure out the best way to deal with him, you'd have to try a different approach. He swallowed before smiling to you as he asked, “What is the best treatment for silence?”

You really didn't want to think back to the past, the depression. You blurted out, “Music. Why do you keep asking me about.. that?”

The doctor winked, an odd fluttering clenching your gut as he took another drink and finished off the glass before having a disembodied hand refill the cup. You were both on a drink each though you seriously doubted he would honor the rules of the game. If he lost you could ask for him to let you both go, but if you lost.. you didn't want to think about it.

 

“What song staved off the silence?” he purred.

A jolt went through your chest at the memory, you chewed at the inside of your cheek as you thought back to laying in bed at night wide awake. Sometimes it was too hard to care to put in the earphones but you would, and you would lie there as the melody wrapped it's silken threads around your soul. It was the only thing that kept you sane, that eventually lulled you to sleep when the pills would only make you sicker. He must have known this was a sensitive subject, he was flipping your plan around on you already but you had no choice now. You'd have to continue forward and keep trying.

“A song.. a song from a game I played once awhile back. It's called..” you thought hard on it for a moment, reaching for it. You knew you had it on your phone as it acted as an mp3 player but you weren't going to turn it on for that, ah, it hit you, “Revelations.. it's just a piano piece.”

As you spoke of it the song built up in your mind, your soul gave a dull throb to the memory. It wasn't a very happy song, but relating to the tone and feel of the song brought you peace. You quickly asked him a question as you tightened your grip on the glass and looked down at the phone in your lap, hoping to throw him off the topic, “ _Should_ I call Sans..?”

He paused, his eyes glancing around the room as if in thought. You let out a soft sigh at the success but as you looked back to him you found him to be drinking and looking at your from the corner of his eye sockets. Shit. He was fucking with you.

“May you show this.. piano piece to me?” he asked gently, lowering his glass to the table as he rested his arm atop the wood. You blinked at him a bit, technically it was a question you could answer and not fully follow through with but as you looked to the phone in your hands it would give you an excuse to turn it on. With a nod you held the lock button until the screen lit up and went through the logo, your home screen loaded rather quickly but you noticed quite a few applications were missing including the call button, text messaging and even your voicemail.

You glanced up at him, he met your gaze in a solid stare and you reflexively turned your attention back to the screen as you swiped over to your music and loaded the playlists. You took in a deep breath and hit the song, the little device projected the soft tune of the piano keys playing along as you turned up the volume a tad as the intro built up. Hitting the lock button you set the phone down on the desk between the two of you with the speakers facing up, you felt tense and maybe even a tad embarrassed as you kept your eyes locked onto your drink.

As the song continued forth, crescendo and wavering, you managed to build up the courage to glance at the scientist. He wasn't paying attention to you, instead he was looking at the shelves once more deep in thought. You were getting a good look at the profile of his face, his jawline was so sharp in contrast to his smooth neck that was mostly hidden by his large turtleneck. That deep fissure down the side of his face looked like it was an old wound as it connected his eye socket and the blackness of his mouth without any discomfort. A deep twisting began to gnaw at your mind as the song continued, the longer you stared at this monster.. the more the music accentuated him.

You knew intimately how long the song was, it would continue for quite a few minutes which would give you time to think about your next question but instead you began to reflect. Gaster was most likely insane whether before his accident or after being pulled out of his prison and given his body back by you.. it would explain why he wanted to keep you as apparently you were unique, an anomaly. The thought of being trapped here with him was intimidating, he was unpredictable and though he hadn't been violent towards you since you first met it meant he was still capable of violence.

You wondered what this man was like before being trapped, Sans had spoken about him lightly but still referred to him as his dad during his talks with you. He must have been a good Father once.. your eyes trailed across his chest, over his arm and to the hand that sat lightly around the glass on the table. His sharpened claws and disfigured appearance was different than other monsters you'd seen, they had at least resembled natural occurrences.. Gaster.. he wasn't natural. _'that.._ _ **thing**_ _... is not my dad'_   Sans words pecked at your brain. He wasn't natural anymore. But as you watched him, saw his chest rise and fall with each breath while listening to the piano you couldn't help but truly marvel at him. Like a tiger laying in the sun, placated, living and a part of your reality with a mysterious level of violence lurking just beneath the surface. Your heart fluttered, you weren't sure if it was the booze or nervousness.

Gaster turned his head back to you just as you broke your gaze and tapped your fingertips against the rim of the glass shyly. The song came to a close and you sat in silence for a moment, wetting your lips with your tongue before you managed to speak up, “Did you like it..?”

“I found it.. fitting,” he replied.

You couldn't disagree with him. From now on, whenever this song would play you would be reminded of the taste of scotch and a tall mad scientist in a black lab coat. Your body relaxed as you exhaled, silence once more filling the room as you reached for the phone and tabbed out of your music player as he spoke up, “Do you honestly believe that the prince is worth saving?”

“He's done some really, _really_ bad things..” you said without hesitation, feeling more comfortable around him than before for some reason, “and has had more than his fair share of second chances. I mean, when he began crushing Sans and breaking his bones I've never felt more sick in my life..”

The doctor let you have a moment, carefully studying you as you spoke, “' _How could someone be so cruel and earn mercy?'_ I asked myself.. Well, I thought about it and came to the conclusion that while our actions are permanent and we can't take them back, we can act differently in the future. We don't have to remain that way, we can redeem ourselves.. and while Flowey has _a lot_ to repent for he needs help in doing so which I can relate with to an extent...”

You looked up to him curiously, meeting his eyes as you continued, “Have you done something really bad, Gaster? Something that.. you think you'd never forgive yourself for?”

 

“Yes,” he murmured, finishing his glass anyway before setting it back down to the wood firmly, “I lose.”


	24. Laying With a Sinner (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were having troubling figuring Gaster out, he was too mysterious and unpredictable.  
> You especially couldn't predict this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut smutty Mcsmutty-ness up ahead. (NON-CON elements are in here as well.)  
> I had to break this chapter into two parts because it was that long. Tags will be updated, things will happen- CARS WILL EXPLODE  
> Okay, maybe not that. But I have a feeling it's gonna be chaos.

You found yourself back in the front room with the remaining bottle of scotch on the table and the glass in your hand as you lounged across the cushions. Gaster had somewhat opened up to you, he forfeited the game just when he was digging good and deep into your past. He was winning at your own game but he folded out of nowhere, gave you the win. It perplexed you. He even led you back out here to sit and stew while he went through the double doors at the end of the hall. He never said you couldn't follow but his affirmations gave you pause. He had admitted guilt, loneliness and while you wanted to just shrug it off as him being manipulative you just.. couldn't let it go.

You took a sip of scotch before pulling your phone back up to your face and scrolled through the new menu the scientist must have set onto your phone. You now only had a select amount of options which were: calling Sans or accessing a dimensional box. You had no idea what that meant and even as you curiously opened the tab it was empty. You sighed and lingered your eyes over Sans' name, the alcohol in your system allowed your muscles to relax as you draped across the couch.

Two minutes, two minutes was all the time you would have to talk to him. It was a resource you couldn't waste even though you really craved his voice, the tingling of his magic and his breathy laughter. You frowned, he wouldn't be laughing. You sighed heavily and set the phone on your stomach as you scrunched down and laid flat on the couch while staring up at the ceiling and counted the tiles. You'd have to really think about what you were going to say. Starting off you would ensure you were okay, just a bit sore. He'd demand where you are, he'd beg for you to describe it and he would try to find you but it wouldn't make any difference if he hadn't already thought of this place to begin with. You'd need more information. The alcohol made it hard to think straight and your dirty, itchy clothes were starting to bother your skin.

A shower would help clear your mind then afterwards you'd make some more food and come up with a game plan. Gaster was odd, suspicious but he didn't seem inherently violent or sadistic as you were free to wander around and do as you wished. You noticed the moths had vanished from the rooms after your talk with the scientist, whenever you thought about it your chest would hurt so you simply gave up trying to question it.

You sat up, finished your second glass and exhaled deeply while blinking. _'Damn that shit is strong..'_ you thought, but it was helping to keep you level and keep anxiety off of you. All you wanted was to see Chip, Frisk.. Toriel.. Sans and the rest of your friends. You assured yourself you would see them again, this wasn't the end. Gaster didn't want to kill you and it seemed as if he fancied your presence in his lab which was confusing, it could take years to unravel and peel back his guard and that was something you hoped you wouldn't have time for.

Standing up from the couch the alcohol hit you, blanketing your body in a soft haze but you welcomed it. If you had to think anymore about the situation you knew you'd be sick. You left the empty glass and bottle of scotch on the table as you meandered back down the hall to the bathroom door and closed it behind you as you looked towards the shower. You'd get cleaned up, let your buzz soften up and then investigate the other rooms. You hadn't heard screaming or anything so Gaster must be treating Flowey in the same manner as he was treating you. A little cringe-worthy but overall neutral.

You ran the shower, waiting to see if the water would heat up as you rummaged the cabinet under the sink. There were some towels and MTT brand soaps that smelt all right, they reminded you of that tea Toriel would make for you. The smell brought you comfort, your soul warming at the memories as you stood and looked into the mirror. You looked terribly ill, hair a mess and clothes dirty from all your sweating. Gladly you took them off and folded them into a pile on the counter, you'd have no choice to get back into them but at least you could wash your hair and relax. Ah, you knew the best thing to help you unwind. You went to your phone and loaded up your usual playlist with some soft music that played in the small room as you stepped into the current with a relieved sigh. The water was hot, scalding your skin but kneaded away the aches and pains.

You had wanted the shower to clear your buzz but you only became more hazy, a blissful smile crossing your lips as you washed away the filth and troubled thoughts. You let yourself just be in the moment, not worrying about anything as the alcohol relaxed your body along with the hot water. You could feel your soul glowing in a soft warmth that spread into your limbs, you were curious to how it looked now but also were a bit afraid. You didn't know if you could see it that sickly amber color again.

Even after fully washing yourself you continued to stand under the water, running a hand across your sore neck and slowly twisted your head side to side as you stretched your muscles. A bath would have probably been better as you tried to press your fingertips harder into your tense flesh but couldn't quite get there. You sighed and let your hand fall a tad, a hard deliberate stroke passed down your neck and you couldn't help but moan at the sensation. You started to piece together that you hadn't even been pressing into your neck with your hand before you felt those fingers rub along your sore flesh once more, kneading away the tension.

Your eyes snapped open just as you felt fingers trailing up your bare thigh and as you turned your blurred attention to the disembodied hand at your waist another curled up around your ribs in a tender caress which caused you to shudder, gasping as the hand at your neck drew across it in an experienced rub. You couldn't deny it, it felt incredibly good and if it weren't for the alcohol you could maybe step away but for some reason your body remained in his grasp. A soft cooing vibration brushed your soul as the hand at your hip gripped onto you and dug it's thumb into your lower back, kneading at at a tender ache while the one at your side trailed the outline of your ribs.

What was happening..? A sigh left your lips as your eyelids fell, turning to putty as another hand slid up the front of your neck, hooking your jaw and gently pressing along your skin in a sensual grip. You could feel your legs tremble with the shudder that ran down your spine as the hands went to work at your sore form, they seemed deliberate yet also curious as they worked through the knots in your neck, shoulders and back. You felt a little voice in the back of your mind screaming but it was lost to you, the past day and a half was so uncomfortable you couldn't help but embrace the much needed massage.

Your thoughts started to wander, wondering when they would stop but they never did. You felt your muscles unwind, relax fully and eased the aches in your joints by doing so. A slight moan quivered in your throat, keeping your lips firmly shut to try to muffle it as you felt the hand at your side slip it's fingertips over your soft belly and at first you didn't notice it until a finger swiped passed your folds and hitched at your clit. A spark shot through your entire body at the sensation, snapping you to what was happening as you felt your soul pulse as the electric sensation washed over your body.

About to slap it away the hand at your throat tightened, gripping the sides beneath your jaw controllingly which pulled a shaky pant from your lungs as the hand ducked lower over your soft folds. The finger made another exploratory swipe over your slit, a flush rising in your cheeks as you realized you had gotten aroused from his touching over the past few minutes. Attempting to writhe away from his grasp the other hands suddenly clutched onto your body, holding you still as the hand slid a finger into your tight walls, hooking upwards and dragging back out of you which elicited a shock to your entire body. You whimpered, raising a hand to grip at the one on your throat but you just grabbed onto the side of his hand with your fingers gripped into the hole through the palm weakly.

Your body was craving this touch, no matter how your mind tried to rationalize and scream at you. You felt your soul flutter, an odd presence pressing into your brain and smothered your ability to reason as a soft panting forced through his grip at your throat. The hand slid in another finger as it ground and thrust into your quivering walls, the others had to not only hold you still but keep you standing as trembling started to settle into your legs. You hardly even noticed the music playing in the background as he worked through your body, his thumb pressing and grinding against your clit as his fingers thrust and pulled at your walls. A tightening itch building as he continued his motions.

Panting beneath the current you felt something shift and crawl across your glowing soul as he edged you closer and closer. It wasn't long before you came, your legs quivering as an electric wave washed up your spine and pressed a rather loud groan from your lips. You could feel your walls constricting around the fingers as they teased and rode your climax out farther, once your body began to relax the hand drew itself from you before they all simply vanished into thin air. You stumbled back into the wall of the shower, panting wildly and looking around you to find nothing.

A deep flush rose into your face as you came to the sinking realization of what just happened, the alcohol still held a good grip onto you but with your mind released from that heavy sheet you just stood there in the current. Heart pounding, skin pink from the water and embarrassment it took you a few more minutes to shut the water off and tentatively grab for a large, plush towel as you stepped out. Hesitantly you looked around the small room but found nothing. Your heart gave a jolt as you remembered what he said earlier, _'For you see, the soul naturally reacts to the things we enjoy. Food, comfort.. sex'._

You wrung your hair out in the towel before rubbing the fabric against your skull harshly, that fucker. Was this his brilliant idea to get your soul to heal? He wanted to.. _fuck you?_ You quickly finished drying off and looked to the counter for your clothes but only were met with an empty space with your phone sitting there untouched. _**That fucker.**_

You stood there for a moment, just staring and trying to process what was going on as your drunken state faded to a buzz. Oh hell no. You tied the towel around your body, a determined scowl crossing your features as you stormed from the room. You completely forgot about your cellphone as you flung the bathroom door open and whipped your head around. He had to be close by, all smug and trying to play coy. You fell right into his plot and your flush remained tinged on your skin as you knew you had enjoyed it, but from now on you wouldn't let your guard down.

With a growl you set off for his office, flinging open the doors and running through the short hallway to yank open the one that led to that familiar room. You stood in the doorway, seething as the monster was standing off to the side of his desk and glanced through a bunch of stapled papers with a bored expression. He flicked the page over, ignoring you as you stormed into the room.

“Where they fuck are my clothes?!” you stared right into his eyes though it took him a moment to finish reading a paragraph before he turned his attention to you.

“They are being washed,” he said it as if it should have been obvious.

“Well what the hell am I supposed to wear?” you felt like tearing your hair out.

He shrugged, stepping behind his desk to toss the papers down onto the tabletop before pulling out a drawer and fished around inside of it.

“I get you wanna fuck with me and booy _oh boy_ are you good with that-” you glared, he didn't seem to care as you continued, “but at least let me have some dignity here!”

You were shaking with rage as he pulled out a folded turtleneck, just like the one he was wearing and tossed it at you. Blinking you caught the fabric and held it between both of your hands, it was a very plush, soft material and felt rather expensive. You hadn't owned anything this nice in your life. Wait. This was his shirt. You looked up to find him standing right in front of you with his neutral gaze bearing down on you, you felt your soul give a determined beat and remained planted where you were. He wasn't going to intimidate you anymore.

“You seriously want me to wear your clothes?” you gripped the fabric rather hard as he slowly blinked.

“You can choose not to if you wish”

“An option to be naked or wearing your clothing isn't really much of an option is it?” you growled.

“The option is there,” he leaned a bit closer, “Just like how you had the option to reject or embrace me, and you've embraced me.”

“Like hell I have!” you barked, he just took another step forward and closed the distance between you as his hands brushed across your bare arms, his voice low within his chest.

 

“You enjoyed it, my dear,” he hummed as he brought a hand up your arm and beneath your dripping hair, lightly caressing your neck which made you shiver, “simply submit to me. I know your curiosity to know me is eating at your soul, what better way to become familiar..?”

A knot twisted in your gut as he touched you, his eyes gazing to yours as he towered over you. His body radiated heat, the feeling almost welcoming as the cold air picked at your skin. You swallowed dryly before speaking, a soft murmur.

“You just want to use my soul for your own purposes,” you smacked the hand away from your neck but still clutched the borrowed shirt with the other, keeping direct eye contact with him as you stood uncomfortably close, “You couldn't care less, you're just trying to confuse me on purpose so you can feed on me like a _parasite_.”

A rolling chuckle echoed in his throat, his smile deepening as he careened his head down towards your face. He tucked his hand on your lower back and set the other between your shoulder blades before pulling you up against his chest, your soul flashing as you felt not only body heat but something else radiating from him. It was a dark pressure, much like sans' magic, but it weighed much heavier on your soul and made you feel so drowsy. You fought against the feeling as he held you to him, his chin dipping down to hover above your ear.

“Sure, my darling. Let me bury within you, feasting upon your supple flesh-” his words send shudders down your spine, he was sick and twisted but for some reason a hot excitement stirred within your stomach that you instantly felt ashamed of, “for a parasite such as myself allowed to linger within an elegant golden, deity.. it is a carnal, blinding greed.”

You heart began to race, your breath hitching in your throat as his hot words flowed like silk against your exposed, sensitive neck as he continued, “To stain one as delicate as you is sinful. Enthralling.”

Your eyelids began to flutter, struggling against the effects of his magic as he spun his words across your skin. You could hear him inhale your scent, his chest expanding with the slow draw before he let out a soft pant and parted his maw. That black, transparent tongue slunk along your skin in a hungry lap that only ended at your jaw as you flinched your head away from him.

“You've not known passion until you lie with a sinner, my darling,” he chuckled.

 

That pressure drew in on your soul, weighing it down as the hand on your shoulder blades lifted up before slipping his lanky fingers beneath the towel and pushed downward. You desperately tried to move your soul out of his magic's possessive grasp, your heart beat pounding in your head and against your battered rib cage as you felt the fabric unfold and fall to the ground at your feet in a heap. Exposed to the rooms cool air you shivered, closing your eyes tightly as you tried to pull away from him but he held you firmly. He summoned a spare pair of hands to press into your back, holding you against his chest as he trailed his fingertips along your sides.

He pressed his fingers rather hard as he counted your ribs, you whimpered and frantically shook your head to clear your daze but it didn't help the seeping darkness spreading into your very bones. The feeling was much like it had been on the table but without the pain, it made it beyond difficult to try to fight him off but you refused to give in so easily. With a growl you dropped the offered shirt onto the floor and pressed your palms flat against his solid midsection, you tried to push him away but it was like trying to push a brick wall. Digging your digits into his soft shirt you continued to struggle but hesitated as his rough skull pressed into the side of your head, you froze as his tongue draped across your shoulder and his hands came to rest on your waist.

A hard tugging at your soul left you breathless, it shook your body and as you let out a pant you felt a new pair of hands grip onto your thighs, their fingers resting just beneath your ass before they lifted you up into the air and into Gaster's awaiting jaws. He bit down onto your flesh at the base of your neck as you were lifted, your legs slipping inside of his coat on either side of his waist. His teeth were jagged and incredibly sharp as he held you in his jaws, making you freeze but it wasn't long before the air was split your a cry as he broke the skin, blood trickling down your back and chest as he straightened up with you in his enveloping arms. Your hands were still tightly embedded into his shirt and as he lifted you to a more suitable level it brought the bottom of his shirt up, your bare skin pressing against his. His hands groped across your back as you squirmed and snarled, a heat rising into your ears at feeling him.

You had thought Gaster would have been a skeleton monster like his sons, but something must have happened to his body as he clearly wasn't skeletal anymore. It was almost as if he was reborn into a ghoulish lich, having been mostly a melted blob it must have fused him into what he was now. His body thrummed with magical energy, tickling your bare stomach and thighs as his tongue went to work smearing blood across your neck. A shiver ran down his back at the taste, a sharp twitching hammered against your soul as he dipped his fingertips into the strings of blood rolling down your back.

“S-stop,” you panted, a shudder running through your body as his bite set fire to your flesh and tore at your nerves, “It _hurts_.”

He hummed knowingly but held onto you as his tongue wedged against his sunken teeth and your flesh, the feeling as at first painful but was replaced by a heavy aching that wasn't that much better. His magic sunk into your skin as he took the time to work around each breach in your skin, if one tooth wasn't properly sunk he would bite down harder in smaller increments. You cried out and shoved your arms against him, a disembodied hand quickly shoving a finger into your mouth to silence you. It explored your mouth, raking along your molars and you thought about biting down but remembered what happened the last time. You could only pant and whimper against the digits as they pressed against your tongue and ran along it. The hand kept you distracted as his real fingertips slid their way down your back, effectively smearing beads of blood across your skin. The hand traced around to your stomach and wedged between the both of you as his fingers pressed through your slick folds.

Gasping you choked out a moan against the prodding hand, something deep inside of you was enjoying this while rationality was clubbed into silence as his fingers stroked along you in long motions and began to drive you crazy. You could feel your soul sputtering, drowning in his magic before he suddenly thrust his fingers within you. His claws scraped along your walls in a stinging arc as he caressed over your inner sweet spot with ease by how large his hands were. A shudder wracked through your body as you began to pant heavily against his summoned hand, drool coating the fingers and slipped down your lips as he withdrew it from your mouth and vanished.

Your head dipped down to his neck and rested your face on his shoulder, the soft fabric was a welcoming comfort and as you nuzzled into it he only worked his fingers deeper inside of you before drawing them back out as his thumb twisted against your sensitive clit. To muffle your moans you bit onto his shirt, grinding the soft fabric between your teeth as tears pricked into your eyes. You could feel his fangs moving around inside of your flesh momentarily before he slacked his jaws and pulled away, you gave a muffled cry as he freed himself. Your body was shaking, tensing and building as he fingered you yet the pain in your right shoulder left that entire arm tingly and numb. He chuckled curiously at his work, it looked like a small shark had bitten you with tinges of black staining the edges of your delicate flesh. You thought it was over but he was just starting, he plunged his tongue down against the holes in your neck and shoulder which you writhed at with a snarling hiss.

He dug his tongue into the holes, coating them in an inky black ooze while his fingers slowly pulled themselves from your tightening walls. You whimpered as he gave you one final touch before removing his hand and dug his clenched fingers into your hips, his breathing spiked as excitement and need seeped into the influence of his magic. You didn't know if he was imposing those feelings on you or if they were just a reflection of his own emotion. Something fiddled with his pants beneath you, recognition sparking to the forefront of your mind as a sickeningly hot appendage pressed against your folds. Gasping you tried to pull your hips out of the way but he not only had a grip on your waist but also your thighs which kept you relatively still until he decided that was enough horse play.

With a shove and roll of his hips he pressed you onto his cock, a burning ache striking your walls as he was much larger than anything you had experienced before. Whimpering you released his shirt to pull at his hands which only drew a growl from the man, it reverberated into the depths of your soul as he pressed down on you once more and forcefully stretched yourself around him. Panting into the balled up fabric in your mouth you tried to stifle your noises, not wanting to give him any more pleasure than this but as his tongue delved into a final bite mark in your skin you gasped just as he rocked his hips another time. Tears spilled from your eyes from the aching in your loins and shoulder, you had no idea where the end of him was but if it had anything to do with his height this would be a long experience.

Thoughtfully he brought a hand up to lightly touch over the marks he left in your skin, the flesh tinted an inky black where his teeth had punctured. A dark grin pulled at his face at the lasting mark he inflicted, it curled perfectly along the curve of your neck. There was one final thing to do now, he allowed his eyes to close as he nuzzled the side of your face and with his heavy breath slipping past your cheek he began to drop and lift you on his robust cock. With each bounce he stuffed just a tad more inside of you, a deep fog clouded your senses as he drove you into riding him. With a few more forceful thrusts he was crammed against your cervix, a hard pressure clenching in your gut to which you choked and held back cries from.

“Mnn, impressive..” he panted with a smirk, you just dug your face deeper into the collar of his shirt trying to hide your flushed and sweating face. He didn't mind your silence as his grip on your waist became more relaxed while the ones at your thighs lifted and let you drop back down him at an increasing pace. Through all of the pain sparks of pleasure ran through your spine and into your very soul, you could feel your eyes rolling beneath your shut eyelids as he hit you just right every now and then. Waves of intense pleasure would wash over your body, causing your legs to tremble as your walls began to tighten around him. You couldn't believe you were close to getting off from all of this, the soft fabric of his shirt kissed your skin as he moved you along him in deep, fluid motions. You could feel yourself drawing closer to the edge, your hands flung up to grip onto his shirt tightly as a gasping moan pressed through your mouth and into the soaking fabric between your teeth.

His movements suddenly stopped, you whined and squirmed as you were so close. It would have been just a few more thrusts and you would have been there, snarling in frustration as a pouting sigh shoved through your lungs. He chuckled against your ear, enjoying how you writhed against his body. His hands kept you still as he turned and walked forward, it was an odd sensation almost like floating and gave you no form of stimulation which ebbed away your tension. You yelped as he suddenly fell backwards in his chair, releasing his shirt just in time for him to pull you off of his shaft as he used his summoned hands to spin you around so you faced across the room and to the door.

You weren't given much time to process what was happening as he shoved you back down his length, your legs straddling him as his cock pressed harshly against your cervix. You groaned deeply at the pressure in your gut, resting your hands on the desk in front of you to steady yourself. Your right arm still felt numb from the bite but you managed to keep it steady as he impatiently rolled his hips into yours, sending a wave of pleasure through you. Your primal instincts kicked in, using the desk to brace yourself you began to ride him all on your own. It wasn't long until you were panting, feeling that familiar tightness clenching your walls around him as you edged closer and closer.

His true hands felt up your sides to your breasts, crossing his arms over each other as he pulled you from the desk and harshly slammed you down into his lap. The movement sent a loud cry through your throat as you climaxed, the pain blending with pleasure as he rocked his hips up and into you to draw out your orgasm. You could feel him panting ever so slightly against your back and just as you were coming off of your high he pinned you tightly to his lap, a hot and gooey substance filling you to the brim. His essence stung at your walls, much like the bite mark placed upon your neck.

Swallowing you tried to control your breathing, feeling beads of sweat drip down your naked form as your combined fluids coated your thighs. Slowly the hard weight on your limbs began to dissipate and withdraw from your soul, clarity seeping into your mind you managed to open your eyes and stare at the table in front of you. If you hadn't felt like a dirty sinner for being with Sans' you sure did feel that dark, nagging guilt bite your ankles now.

With a light sigh Gaster picked your hips up off of him and pushed you forward so you could stand in front of him while he adjusted himself back in his pants and pulled his shirt back down over his stomach. You just kept staring at the table top and let yourself lean over it, pressing your palms heavily into the dense wood. Your legs were shaky as you stood with your back to him, your eyes wide open. You would have liked to think this was just a dream but feeling the hot, stinging black goo ooze from your folds and slip down your thighs you knew you were wide awake. What were you supposed to do now? Shake his hand? Run out of the room?

Your thoughts were broken as you felt the soft towel slide over your back, wiping away the streaks of blood and sweat before dipping down between your legs. You yipped and stood straight, tense and clutching the air with your fingers in front of your chest as the towel cleaned you off, you turned every so slightly to see Gaster standing just behind you off to the side as he was looking to the floor. You followed his gaze to see a disembodied hand pick up the discarded turtleneck on the floor and brought it over.

The towel left you as a pair of hands folded it up and whisked it off as you turned more towards the doctor who took the shirt from the hand and looked back towards you. He had the exact same expression on his face when you first walked in, neutral and placated. You blinked at him, his mouth cracking into the lightest hint of a smile as he unraveled the shirt and you bit into your cheek while raising your arms so he could slip it over your head. You puffed a bit of air as the fabric draped over your shoulders, it was much too large for you and fit more like a long sweater dress. You looked down at your body, noticing the collar of the shirt hung much more open on you. You could see your collarbones and even the curve of your shoulders but the shirt itself was extremely soft, light ribbing lines ran down it and as you drew your hands up to softly grip onto the front of the shirt Gaster chuckled.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured.

Shocked you pulled your gaze up to him but he had already turned his attention away from you and was making strides towards the door, he opened the door with a summoned hand and walked through it before the hand vanished. The metal door clinked shut and left you standing alone in the large room by yourself. A wrenching feeling turned your guts inside out as you gently wiped at your eyes, removing the stains from your cheeks and eyelashes. So much for that plan of not letting your guard down, but deep inside of you there was a satisfied relaxation. Your soul felt lighter.

 

***

 

He hadn't expected that to happen but he didn't complain about it either. It had been so long trapped in the void, the feelings of emptiness were all that filled him until just days ago. Normally he wouldn't have caved into carnal lusting but with the energy of that girls soul wrapped in his magic he couldn't help himself. He was a tad late to check on the prince but it shouldn't be a big deal, it was taking quite a long time to get him to cooperate. Unlike the human, of course.

He pushed past the double doors leading into the dark lab only illuminated by the various monitors around the room and the harsh lights poised above the exam table. He strolled past various monitors and equipment before he came to the table and looked down at the flower strapped to the metal. It seems as if he had finally calmed down as he looked hazily up at the doctor, Oliver was poised on his stem lightly flicking his antennae. He couldn't use magic on the monster but he could keep tabs on him. Gaster brought a hand up and kept it hovered above the tiny monster, testing his nerves as he usually did. The flower hadn't shaken the last time but he was now, his eyes growing wide as he stared up at his fingers.

“I-is.. Is that blood?” he quivered.

The man remained emotionless but slowly tilted his hand to look at the underside of his hand, the girls blood left bright red streaks across his fingers and the edges of the hole in his palm. His neutral expression twitched into a smirk as he turned his gaze back to the flower while slowly lifting his hand to his face.

“W-what did you _do_?” the flower nearly sobbed.

What a crybaby. Gaster opened his jaws to let slip his blackened tongue, passing it across his hand with a hungry lick. His pupils dilated at the taste, a shiver running through his back as he consumed the residual life energy from the stains. Not as good at fresh blood from the girl, but just enough for his reaction to be sincere to where the flower began to shake uncontrollably against the table.

He would test the girls theory about the prince, but he wanted his own sort of sick payback for the pain he put his sons through all those resets ago.

_**“What did you do to Sun!?”** _

 

***

You had made your way back out into the hall, hearing music you sighed and went to the bathroom to fetch your phone. It was playing that same song from earlier as you picked it from the counter, you let it play as you looked up into the mirror and gasped. You leaned over the sink and pulled the neck of the shirt to the side to expose the right side of your neck and shoulder, it looked as if you had been tattooed. You shakily raised a hand to touch one of the triangular marks left upon your skin and found the area a bit sore, swollen and raised. He had marked you.

Your teeth tore at the inside of your cheek as you carefully examined each little triangle of black on your flesh, the skin was mended and pulled together while still a tad tender. Great, now you looked like some kind of hipster with a shark bite tattoo. The marks were far enough apart and flowed with the natural curve of your neck so that they didn't look horrendous or ugly but it was still an odd sight to behold. You let your hands fall from the shirt as you looked into your own eyes, they looked brighter, you looked better. Before it had been as if seeing a walking dead person but now you were almost back to your old self just minus some color and a new tattoo.

You clutched the phone in your hand and sighed as the middle of the piano song continued to play in the small space, you let it continue as you walked back out of the bathroom and looked around. You didn't feel like drinking, you didn't feel like eat or sleeping either. The doors lining the hallway perked your curiosity and as you made your way down the hall to explore you heard a shout. It sounded like Flowey. You froze, your heart thudding in your chest before you heard another cry from the monster just beyond the double doors at the end of the hall.

You broke from your fear and rushed forward to crash through the double doors, flinging them wide open as you burst into the room. Gaster was standing on the far side of the darkened room illuminated by blue computer screens with his back towards you. He suddenly sidestepped as three little white pellets shot from the table and cracked into the ceiling, exploding into little white bits of dust. You sprinted towards the sounds of Flowey's snarling, hearing him clearly now as another round of pellets shot for the doctor to which he merely smacked away with his hand, the attack bouncing off the backs of his fingers to pop against a monitor.

_“Huh?! what did you do to her?!”_

 

You came up beside Gaster, he peered down at you as you hovered above the flower who was shaking with tears streaming down his face. The exam light was bright on the little monster, dwarfing him to the rest of the table with a thick black strap pulled across his stem to keep him down. Oliver was perched on this strap, not seeming to mind all the activity as his antennae felt the air aimlessly. Flowey was snarling with his mouth turned into pointed dagger like teeth, he seemed to not recognize you at first as you blinked down to him.

“Hey, hey it's okay..” you murmured, reaching a hand out towards a petal to gently wipe away a tear.

The monster shuddered, his face softening into disbelief as he saw you. A soft, choking laugh erupted from him dryly as you smiled at him but his eyes flicked to your right shoulder, Gaster looming right above you watching the scene from the corner of his eye sockets.

“T-this sicko had blood on him-” Flowey stammered, a snarl raising into his voice above the music still playing on your phone.

You swallowed, realizing it was from him biting you during your intimacy and you laughed weakly, “N-no it's fine.. I just.. cut myself on accident, no big deal.”

The flower raised an eyebrow, severely confused as Gaster's mouth drew into a sly grin as the doctor peered at him. You weren't about to explain to a child what had happened, you probably wouldn't tell anyone about what really happened. Though you could still feel his seed stinging at your walls and lightly burning your thighs beneath your makeshift sweater dress. You were startled as your phone continued on through your playlist to a similar piano song but with lyrics, you quickly turned it off and set the device on the table next to the flower who was even more troubled but you turned to look at Gaster.

“Why is he strapped to a table in a dark, creepy ass room?” you glowered, the doctor simply blinked slowly at you as Flowey spoke up to the other side of you.

“You have your phone back..? Wait, why are you here? Why isn't he doing anything to you?” stress was sinking into the monster as he trembled, you turned back to look at him and sighed with a sheepish smile as you heard Gaster walk away from the table and to the wall to look over a monitor.

“Well, I guess he never actually locked us in that room. We're more like.. guests. We just have to wait for Sans to get him a human soul so he can make your new monster soul.. he would have used mine but it's a bit.. weak right now,” Flowey stared at you before responding.

“..seriously?” he wheezed, “Because I'm pretty sure he's going to kill me..”

You cleared your throat and shook your head, lowering your voice to try to keep your conversation private as you kept your eyes off of Oliver and onto Flowey's face. You leaned in closer, the light of the exam bulbs illuminating you fully, “I think I convinced him otherwise.. I know he's really weird but I think he'll follow through with this..”

“..what happened to your neck?” the monster whispered, staring at your shoulder.

Reflexively you pulled the collar of the borrowed shirt to cover the mark, only getting the flower to notice what you were wearing and he screeched, “Why are you wearing his shirt?!”

“Shhhhh!” a blush drew up into your face, feeling Gaster's gaze on your back as you leaned closer to the flower to whisper, “Don't make this more embarrassing than it is. I didn't have a choice, okay? I needed to wash my old clothes and this was.. well.. all there was.”

An unbelievable, sly grin covered Flowey's face as he spoke rather flatly, not caring to keep his voice down, “You fucked Sans' dad didn't you?”

You reeled back from the table, keeping your hands on the metal as a flustered blush covered your face. You glared down to Flowey as you whispered harshly, “No! You're like eight years old, you shouldn't have such language, shut up!”

Flowey's smug face only grew deeper, you looked over the set up curiously. You turned to look over your shoulder at the scientist and persisted to change the subject, “ _Why_ is he strapped to a table?”

Gaster didn't bother to turn to you, your bite mark felt an odd pressure drive into it as his voice carried across the room without any emotion, “The same reason the human child put him in a laundry basket.”

Laundry basket-? Oh, when he had tried to fight you the first time. You didn't want to know how he knew that and just turned back to Flowey and sighed, “We'll get home soon, okay? You'll have your body back and a normal life.”

Flowey opened his mouth to speak but your phone started to go off, music filling the room as the screen flashed with a picture of Sans grinning up at you. A deep, gnawing guilt began to consume your heart as you stared into the white lights of his eyes. You heard Gaster stroll up next to you, his hands placed behind his back as you reached your hand out and picked up the phone to slowly swipe the green button to answer the call. You couldn't say anything, your breath hitching in your throat as tears began to build up in your eyes, you heard his ragged breathing on the other end before he spat out.

_“all right you prick, i have what you asked for now let's get this over with-”_

“Sans..?” you murmured, holding the phone against the side of your cheek as there was a long pause on the other end as he breathed out your name desperately.

 _“finally, are you all right? that fucker hasn't hurt you has he?”_ he snarled, you could hear his strain though as you answered you felt the bite marks throb along with your soul.

“N-no.. no..” you glanced over to Gaster who held you two fingers. Two minutes. Sighing you went on as the two monsters stared at you, “Frisk was right-”

 _“what the_ _ **fuck**_ _are you saying to me right now?”_ you flinched at his harsh words, he was beyond enraged, _“just tell me where you are!”_

You blinked away the tears as a lump formed in your throat, you never did take getting yelled at very well but luckily you understood how to talk to Sans, “Listen, you were right.. We should have never gone to the undergound-” he tried to interrupt you but you growled into the receiver and he shut his jaws with a loud clacking, “it was stupid and dangerous, and now I'm here in this.. lab-” you mentioned carefully, Gaster didn't move or react what so ever, “-because of it. But..” you tapped your fingers on the table, not sure how to word what you wanted to say.

 _“but what?”_ he sighed, still pissed off.

“But Frisk _was_ right. He needed help-” you sighed and held the phone out from your face as Sans barked a slew of colorful profanity that made Flowey start to laugh and Gaster slowly blinked, unimpressed.

_“.. who the fuck is that in the background?”_

“Flowey,” you stated, surprised that he paused. You noticed Gaster dropped a finger down to just one in the corner of your eye. You didn't have much time, “Listen I only have a minute left so please don't fly off the handle.”

He heaved, he was probably rolling his eyes and rubbing the back of his skull, _“what do you mean you only have a minute? he's right there with you isn't he?”_

You sighed with aggravation before going on, “Yes, just.. stop. Flowey and I are fine. The only reason why Gaster wants you to bring him a new soul is because he won't use mine to bring Flowey's soul back, I used to not really know why but I do now.. He's naturally curious, a bit creepy, but curious and since my soul is so different he just wants to keep me around for a bit. Please try to relax, for me, he knows about souls and has been letting me recover from pulling him out of the void. That has to count for something, right? So try to remember that when you see him. I- .. I miss you, Sans..” you choked, “I'll see you soon, okay?”

He was silent for a moment before a dry, baseless laugh cackled through the line, _“you have no idea what he's actually like. i'll be getting you out of there and far away from that piece of_ _ **shit**_ _,”_ he growled.

Gaster held his hand out, you looked at it and dropped the phone from your face without saying anything else and placed it in his fingers. You turned away from the two monsters and walked a bit away from the table as you wiped at your eyes, your soul felt heavy as you heard Gaster speak calmly, “I'll see you there, do not make me wait.”

There was a hissing snarl before the call suddenly cut out and you all were left in silence. Flowey craned his head to watch as Gaster strolled past the table and set his hand at the mid of your back, glancing over your expression as you held your sleeved covered hand over your mouth and stared mournfully at a monitor beside you. You couldn't read what was on it but it distracted you enough from the thoughts of explaining what happened here, Sans was so jealous and protective there was no way you could have a civil discussion with the skeleton. You could tell this would be an enormous struggle to overcome, he could get impulsive and so spiteful with the drop of a hat. With your new marking at your neck he would likely flip out beyond words, you didn't really enjoy it either but at least you could keep face.

A little part of you had hoped that Gaster and Sans could have had a genuine reunion and be a family, but that wasn't going to happen. If anything your situation only made the feelings between the two harder, more hateful. You knew you were in a tug-of-war now, you missed Sans greatly but your fears had been confirmed about his emotional state. It was a good thing you hadn't tried calling earlier, you wouldn't have had the energy to deal with it. You just didn't get the animosity between the father and son, what had gone wrong? There was a fluttering like a moths wing against your soul as you thought.

“In a traditional sense,” you flicked your eyes to Gaster as he spoke, his face remaining neutral, “Sans and Papyrus are not my 'sons'.”

You raised an eyebrow, watching as he brought his right hand up and you stared at the hole through his palm, “They are clones.”

It was like glass shattering as you stared at his hand and then looked back up to his face, the fabric covering your mouth suppressed your hitched breathing. It all made sense to you now. Gaster must have been doing some sort of experiment with monster souls and made the two brothers, you didn't know whether it was on purpose or not, but as you came to know this monster.. you knew he wasn't a good caretaker. He was relatively emotionless, difficult to read and foreboding. He favored his work above the two brothers and Sans must have never forgave him for it, coupled with losing Gaster to the void and being unable.. No, Sans had been unwilling to save him. Animosity and hatred then grew between the two.

Gaster removed his hand from your back, humming thoughtfully before speaking, “something like that, my dear.”

His body folded into darkness before vanishing. You stood there, blinking and in shock as he responded to your very thoughts. The black mark on your neck was sore, you brought a hand up and carefully set it there as you stood silently. Flowey finally pipped up behind you, “Well that was interesting,” he drew his last words with exasperation, “can you let me out of this thing now?”


	25. The Boogeyman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has brought Gaster the requested soul and it's not what you were expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This is going to be a very graphic chapter. (Blood/gore)  
> You guys are probably used to how these fight scenes go but I feel it's still worth preparing you for.

You had unstrapped Flowey, shooed Oliver away, and let him nestle onto the folded heavy flap of Gaster's borrowed turtleneck, his petals tickled the side of your neck as you whisked him away to the kitchen to make some more instant noodles for dinner. Luckily he was on your undamaged shoulder but he kept peering over to look at the bite marks as you let the water boil and set your phone on the counter to play some music to pass the time. You rummaged through the various drawers to try to find another utensil and sighed, wishing Gaster hadn't tossed your fork down the elevator shaft.

“So.. how did you convince him to build me a soul?” Flowey asked quietly.

“Oh.. I challenged him to a drinking game of sorts. Though.. I didn't really use what I won from it. He just sort of folded and walked away,” you scrunched your brow as you dug through some more useless junk.

“What were you supposed to win?”

“A favor that he can't say no to,” you replied as you dug out another fork clear from the back of the drawer, sighing in relief and went to go wash it off in the sink.

“So you didn't use it yet? What are you waiting for?” he huffed, folding his leaves across his stem as you set the clean fork on the counter and went to put the noodles in the boiling water.

“..I'm not sure,” you sighed with a shrug, “I'm not even sure if he'd honor it anyways.”

A bubblegum sounding vocaloid song popped up onto your playlist and you playfully bounced your hip as you broke apart the noodles.

“..what the fuck is this garbage? Sounds like that stuff Alphys listens to all the time,” he gagged.

You just began to laugh and sing along poorly while bouncing in place in a light dance, wiggling your hips. You drew a groan from Flowey and just laughed, “c'mon, Flowey! It's catchy you gotta admit.”

“No.”

You ignored him, you had a few minutes to kill so you turned the volume up on your phone and spun around to dance your way away from the stove. Dipping your hips and swaying your arms you let your eyes close with a large grin allowing your teeth to show as you sung louder with the lyrics. There was a soft tugging at your soul but you hardly noticed it.

“Uuuuuggghhh no!” the monster begged as you waved a finger and bounced your hip teasingly, glancing down to him as your smile widened just as the song dropped and you were sucked into your motions. Feet tapping the ground as you shuffled around and swung your hips and arms to the beat, an infectious laugh pressing from your lungs as you sung the chorus over the room just to tease him further.

Unfortunately you missed the smile pulling at Flowey's face as you danced freely, you could feel your soul glowing and beating along with your moves which weren't too shabby. You weren't really paying much attention to what you were doing, you just enjoyed the moment and got lost in the fun of it all. Your body flowed through the song, trusting your instincts and listening to your body as you rolled your back and kept light on your feet within the small space between the island and the stove.

The song eventually came to an end and you softly panted as you skipped back up to the stove and quickly dumped the flavor packet into your noodles. You stirred the concoction around as a new song started up, Flowey was wrong to think this was over as you began to sing with the lyrics with a soft panting.

_'It's the perfect time of year, somewhere far away from here._

_I feel fine enough I guess, considering everything's a mess._

_There's a restaurant down the street, where hungry people like to eat_

_I could walk but I'll just drive, it's colder than it looks outside,'_ You hummed the chorus as you turned off the stove top and picked the pot from the burner as you turned to the island counter and set the pot on an ovenmit you had found to prevent it from burning. The song continued to play on so you jumped onto it as you leaned over the counter, holding your fork in the air.

_“On an evening such as this,”_ you waved the fork lightly, smirking suspiciously at Flowey, _“it's hard to tell if I exist.”_

_“Pack the car and leave this town, who'll notice that I'm not around.”_ You pulled the corner of your lips into your cheek, lightly twirling the prongs of the fork up to the ceiling. Flowey rolled his eyes but truly began to smile as he watched.

_“I could hide out under there...”_ you drawled and pointed your fork across the room, eyeing Flowey who raised a brow.

“Under where-?” he tried asking just as you butt in.

_'I just made you say underwear,'_ you giggled, barely managing to recover as you sung the last line as Flowey let out a frustrated sigh but he was smiling all the same.

_“I could leave but I'll just stay, all my stuff's here anyway.”_

Flowey listened to the lyrics and cracked a smirk, “Sans would like this stupid song.”

You smiled between bites, he truly would. You finished up rather quickly, gulped down the broth and sighed with satisfaction. You couldn't eat this forever but it seemed like your stay with Gaster was coming to an end soon and you weren't sure how to feel about that, Sans' would be really upset about the mark and you weren't sure how you were going to deal with it. You washed out the pot as the song went onto another one your favorites, you hummed quietly along with it as the lyrics played through the room but softly began to sing during the chorus.

_'He's everything you want, he's everything you need_

_He's everything inside of you that you wish you could be_

_He says all the right things at exactly the right time_

_But he means nothing to you and you don't know why..'_ you paused, the tap rushing over the pot.

“You totally fucked his dad didn't you?” Flowey snickered, startling you out of your haze and you coughed as you finished up the job and set the pot back on the stove to dry before shutting the faucet off.

“Ssshhhhhut it, kid.. though I am worried about explaining this mark,” you confessed, rubbing your hands together quickly as you leaned back against the counter. The music laid heavily over the both of you so you moved a hand back to turn the volume down a tad so you could speak without raising your voice.

“He's going to be pissed off,” he stated.

“I know that,” you sighed, folding your arms over your chest and glanced down at the flower, “I don't even know what it is..”

He scoffed, “It's a magical marker, not many monsters can pull it off. It basically allows an imprint of magic on whoever it's placed on.”

You chewed at your cheek as you thought, maybe he did it so you could understand him without Oliver touching you? No.. you could understand him before he marked you. Ah, your brow furrowed at the blurry memory of your weak orange-tinted soul with a black vein laying upon it. He had planned this, there must be a reason for it, “Did he possibly do it to irritate Sans on purpose?”

“Probably. It's something Sans would do,” he rolled his eyes, he wasn't wrong there.

“Well I understand where he gets it from now..” you mused, looking up around the room, “I guess I still have some time to think about what I'm going to say..”

Flowey watched as you bit at the inside of your cheek and stared off across the room, he shifted a bit before speaking, “Well, I guess I'll be there with you when it happens so.. ya know. I got your back.. er, shoulder.”

You blinked, looking down to him with a soft smile pulling at your face, “You mean it..?” you dropped your expression and lightly glared, “You can't instigate though.”

Flowey chuckled and nodded, you were enjoying your time with the monster for once. It was nice. You giggled and had a thought pop into your mind, you spat it out happily.

“Are you excited to get your soul back?”

Flowey blinked, staring off across the room and shrugged, “I don't feel anything.”

Ah, that's right. You flushed and smiled sheepishly,”Well I'm excited that we're friends.”

He glanced up to you, confused, “What are you talking about?”

“The old you wouldn't have hung out with me like you're doing now.. Or say you've got my back,” the flower grumbled as you went on, “This must be what Frisk sees, I understand now.”

Flowey just rolled his eyes, though he didn't try to deny it. You opened your mouth to say something but a dark twisting against your soul caught your attention. Gaster must be getting back, you shot your hand over to your phone and turned off your music. You set the phone back on the counter as you turned your attention to the open room and waited expectantly, perhaps Sans would be coming through with him too? It was unlikely but the thought was still there, anxiety setting into your chest.

 

A black shape twisted in the air before solidifying as Gaster suddenly stood in the large room, his hand clutching the back of a mans neck and held him up as the human wheezed and panted as if he was foaming from the mouth. You jumped with a start as Gaster peered over to you before pushing the man towards the hall, you hadn't expected Sans to deliver the scientist a living, breathing person. With a gasp you rushed forward, holding out a hand but Gaster lifted his free hand to stop you. The mark burned across your skin as you came to a stop within eight feet of the two.

“Y-you aren't going to kill them.. are you?” you murmured, looking at the man with care before his face snapped to yours and you stumbled backwards. You were met with a bruised and blooded familiar face. The man gave a wheeze before spitting blood onto the floor, struggling to stand straight up with Gaster's strong grip digging into his neck. The scientist allowed the man to stand but his eerie silence led you to believe he was highly irritated.

“Oh so now you're fucking _**this thing**_ , huh?!” Robert spat, his eyes bouncing from your clothing to Gaster as he immediately put two and two together.

The scientist raised a brow ever so slightly as he looked down to the man before glancing over to you, you just stood in utter shock with your heart racing. Flowey began to crack up which caught Robert's attention.

“ _It's you too!?_ God damnit all of you monsters are nothing but sacks of shit-” he cringed as Gaster tightened his grip.

“Your constant driveling is repugnant,” the scientist growled low in his chest, you could tell he was really irritated. The bite mark on your neck pulsed lightly as his words.

“What the _fuck_ are you even saying? Speak _English_ you shit bag- Get your fucking hands off of me!” Robert tried to twist around to grab at the hand holding him but a summoned pair of disembodied skeletal hands grabbed his wrists and held them forcibly at his back. Robert stumbled and looked to you, pure hatred seeping from his expression as your eyes teared up.

“I should have just fucking killed you, you _putrid wench-”_ you didn't know what to say as you brought an arm up to grip onto the front of you borrowed shirt, staring as Robert continued his barrage, “you let _everything else_ get a good dicking out of that skanky little ass of yours-!” he yelled as he tried to get away from Gaster once again but it was futile. His words struck you hard, a tear spilling from your eye and rolled down your cheek as the black mark on your neck painfully ached.

An echoing, eerie snarl filled the room with a deep pressure that caused the lights to flicker. You blinked up to Gaster who had his eyes narrowed, the white lights of his eyes shrinking to pin pricks as his mouth formed into a jagged, hateful sneer. With a flash of purple light from the scientist's eyes Robert was sent keeling over onto the floor, crying out and gasping as you only assumed Gaster was using his pressured magic on his soul.

You remained where you were, your heart pounding in your ears as you watched Robert squirm on the ground like a maggot as he turned his pained gaze up at you and grunted, “you send these assholes after me just because you got fired for being a cum guzzling gutter slut-?” he laughed, even as that pressure continued to build in the room. Flowey ducked close to the side of your neck, his vision up at the ceiling as the lights flashed and flickered wildly.

“Sent that skeleton freak after me.. now the fuckin' _boogeyman?_ ” he hissed as a trail of blood slid out from his nose and across his cracked lips.

Gaster slowly brought up his hand, his fingers creaking audibly as Robert was raised up from the floor by his soul. He squirmed and gasped for air as his legs kicked uselessly. The scientist's snarl turned into a sadistic grin as he announced, “I fancy the lich comparison,” with a flick of his wrist he sent the man flinging into the wall, you heard a sick crack as Robert gasped.

Lich..? You had thought that during-.. Ah, you weren't sure if you would ever get used to Gaster's magical ability. You watched the scientist release his magic and took a stride over to you as Robert fell to the ground and stumbled to catch himself. The battered man clutched at his sides, wheezing as he pressed his back against the wall and glared all of you down. The scientist placed himself protectively between you and your ex-coworker but an iron grip on your heart caused your eyes to narrow as you strode up and stood beside him instead.

“If you would stop being a fucking prick for five minutes you can go home!” you shouted, flinging an arm out which shifted your shirt and showed the black mark upon your neck to which Robert stared at.

You felt Gaster's gaze on you from the corner of his eyes as he brought his hands together before his waist, touching his fingertips together. Seething you continued to brow beat Robert, “Sans probably picked you because you're such a raging ass clown and wouldn't feel bad if anything happened to you! And you know what? I don't care either! All you do, all you cause, is pain and create obstacles for innocent people.”

“So you're going to force me to get along with these freaks? Along with cunts like _you?_ ” he laughed raspily, clutching at his side, “Not a chance! Just get me the fuck out of here and away from you and weird latin ass speaking psycho.”

Gaster huffed in annoyance, the lights in the ceiling slowing their flickering to almost a complete halt as you held up a hand and looked at him. You had this. He met your gaze but gave no indication of what he was thinking, you took that as good enough. You strode forward, closing the distance and glared at Robert who tried to stand taller and winced from the pain, “I'm sorry if they man handled you, Rob. I didn't mean for you to get roped into this but now that you're here it can be a good thing, you can finally understand what I mean about monsters.”

The man let his hand fall to his opposite waist, keeping his eyes locked on you as he clutched onto the side of his pants, “Fuck off, bitch.”

“If they wanted to kill you they would have already!” you stomped your foot, motioning to Flowey who perched on your shoulder, “This little fucker would have killed you weeks ago! So just shut up and listen to me.”

The man winced, breathing heavily through his clenched teeth as he kept his eyes on you though his gaze would warily shift to Gaster who had come to stand behind you. You noticed, feeling irked at his comments towards the doctor you snarled, “Gaster is a scientist you pleeb, he supposedly built _allll_ of this!” you motioned to the room with both hands, Flowey's roots sinking into the fabric as you jerked about.

“Oh I see,” Robert spat, “must have a lot of money, that's why you fuck monsters-”

“ _ **Shut the fuck up**_ ,” you shook, your hands balling into fists as you kept your stance confident, “If you were a fraction of the monster standing behind me you wouldn't be so insecure about your incompetent dick fiddling skill.”

The marking at your neck pulsed, leaving a faint tingling sensation as you growled, “What is with you and sex?! You know what- No- No I don't care to know..”

Robert sneered, trying to cut back a retort but you shut him up as you took a strong step forward and jabbed a hand towards him, “I'm sick of you. I just want you to shove off and get out of my life for forever! So here's what's going to happen so we can be done here and I don't have to endure being within ten miles of your putrid bigotry.”

“Bitch are you _knife-handing_ me-?” he tried to growl but you ran over top of his question.

“We are going to show you your soul, you are going to be still and cooperate. We just need to borrow .. _something_ in there to help my friend. Then you can go home and do fuck all,” you stated with a snort.

He held gazes with you, reminding you of the staring contest you had with Gaster but you had nothing to fear from Robert. He was just a pathetic old man too scared because of the rapidly changing world around him, your soul gave a soft pulse as you softened your stance. Sighing you gently held your hand out towards him, “Just.. just trust me, okay? I don't like you just the same as you don't like me, but I need your help right now.”

Robert looked down to your hand, his panting slowing as he caught his breath and gently raised his free arm while the other shifted further down his side, “S-sure, whatever you say..”

You watched as his shaky fingers reached out towards your gentle, small ones and before you could grasp his hand he suddenly shot his hidden arm forward as a slicing pain shot through your hand. A hot iron slash tore through your palm, you drew the arm towards you and yelped as Robert lunged towards you. Just as he was about to crash into you two summoned skeletal hands shoved back against his shoulders and flung him into the wall, pinning him there. Robert was waving around a switch blade and trying to stab at the hands while you reeled back into Gaster's chest cradling your wrist as you looked down and saw a large gash across your palm.

Blood pooled in your hand, dripping down your fingers and pattered to the floor as you looked up to find both of Gaster's hands out stretched on either sides of your face. His black lab coat obstructed most of your view as it draped around your shoulders and shielded your peripheral vision. A deep rolling thunder shook the room, the lights flashing and even bursting as glass cascaded down around you. Roberts cries brought you back to focus on him and found a hand clutching his neck, squeezing tightly as another hand ripped the knife from Roberts grasp. The heavy flashing and shaking of the room disoriented you as the movements were so fast you could hardly keep up with the still frames of illuminated movement.

You let out a gasp as Gaster jerked his arm and guided the summoned hand to plunge within Robert's chest with a solid THUNK. The sick noise made you flinch as Robert began to scream like a dying animal. His cries were choked out from the hand around his throat as the other ripped the knife from his chest, spraying the strobing air with crimson ribbons of blood before driving back into his chest again, and again. You hardly noticed Flowey huddled in the crook of your neck as you were transfixed on the chaos as the flashing bright lights would clearly illuminate the graphic scene before darkness would take over once again. Each strobe of the lights added more blood, more bits of red fleshy matter, to not only the walls but to Robert and the air as the hand twisted, sliced and crunched into the mans torso with the occasional popping and raining of glass from the ceiling.

You cried out and twisted your body to hide your face in Gaster's chest, cradling your wounded hand to your collarbone while you wrapped your free hand around his torso beneath his coat tightly. Your fingers dug into his back, feeling the slender divot in the middle of his back where his spine was located. You could feel his arms twitching with the motions of his summoned hand's work as the room continued to tremble, more lights bursting from the ceiling. The scientist kept plunging the knife into Robert's solid body, his cries soon drowning in a pool of blood as the man scratched at his throat and gurgled. With a few more sickening, squelching and snapping stabs the doctor tossed the bloodied knife across the floor, it clanked clear across the room as one last bulb shattered. Gaster flung his hand forward for his summoned hand to grab at the pulsing purple heart quivering in front of the mans chest, his jerking caused you to whimper into his chest as his shirt absorbed the few tears slipping from your eyes.

With a snarl Gaster clutched at the soul with his left hand and with the right he tossed his arm to the side deliberately, the summoned hand at Robert's throat angrily throwing the corpse into the floor which he hit and rolled with hollow thuds through a trail of broken glass. As the chaos ebbed away, the pressure lifted and as you realized your own whimpers you felt Flowey shaking against the crook of your neck but there was another noise. A harsh heaving in Gaster's chest pressed into your face, you stood clinging to him for a few more moments before gaining the courage to look up at him with tears in your eyes.

The lighting in the room was by far darker than before, only a quarter of the lights in the room were still functioning. Barely illuminated, his bright white eyes the only real source of light, the scientist drew his extended arm inward, pulling the glowing purple soul closer he fixated on it while the free hand came to wrap around you and set his twitching hand on the back of your head. His quivering fingers slipped through the curtain of your hair, coming to rest just at the back of your neck and skull.

“Is.. is it over?” you whisper, your voice cracking and called his attention as his eyes met yours.

“Unfortunately,” the man breathed, a growl weaving through his words.

 

***

The three of you stood back in the exam room, Gaster had teleported you in there to avoid stepping over the human carcass littering the lounge. He held your wrist firmly as he pulled your arm across a metal sink and turned on the water, you hissed as the cool liquid gushed across your flesh and carried with it pink rivers of blood. A summoned skeletal hand was still grasping the violet soul, it flickered a bright light between the bony fingers as it whisked it away to some sort of machine. You didn't bother to keep tabs on it as it was hard enough to control your breathing through the pain both physically and mentally.

“Stay here,” he muttered, releasing your hand to stride off across the room.

You bit your lip and stared at your wrist, slowly turning to see the deep gash left in your palm. Your body was shaking, as was Flowey's, from the violent display in the other room mere minutes ago. You had witnessed a murder. Though Robert had it coming.. he finally pressed the wrong buttons on the wrong being. It was bound to happen but in such a fashion as that.. It made you feel nauseous, those still frames of flashing light would be forever scarred in your mind.

You winced as your thoughts pulled towards your hand, you could see the deep red flesh and ticks of white bone. You felt faint. Gaster pressed his hand on your back as a loud scraping noise filled the room, a summoned hand had literally dragged the exam table over to the both of you as he turned off the water and wrapped your hand in a rag to carefully dry it. You yelped at the pain, closing your eyes tightly as another set of tears spilled from your eyes. You flinched as a warm, clawed digit pressed across your cheek and swiped beneath your eye. You blinked up to see Gaster flatly staring into your eyes, you found it even harder to breathe.

“Sit down,” he commanded, you obeyed. Clutching the rag around your wrist you hopped up onto the table behind you and let your legs dangle lightly from the edge. Luckily Gaster's shirt was large enough to cover your thighs from the cold metal, you turned your gaze away as you offered your injured hand up to him which he took your forearm carefully. His hand enveloped you, you could probably stuff your fist through the hole in his hand which pressed to your wrist as gently as he could while removing the rag and rotated your hand so your palm face up at him.

“This is deep,” he stated, you swallowed at his lack of emotion. No 'my dear's' or anything following his words. Biting into the side of your cheek you remained silent, heart beating heavily in your tight chest you tried to control you breathing but it didn't seem like you were getting enough air. A whimper pressed from your throat, holding back tears as your shoulders shuddered. You just watched Gaster murder someone, viciously murder someone and he enjoyed it. The things he could have done to you..

“You're going into shock, you need to breathe,” his voice was lower as he hunched above you, watching you struggle with yourself. You brought your free hand up to your mouth as a squeak pressed from your throat, your chest heaving as tears flooded down your face. Flowey wasn't in a much better state, he seemed dazed and kept himself pressed into your warm flesh while staring into space.

“I..I-i..” you sputtered, another shudder running through your back as you hunched over and began to cry. Even with your eyelids shut tight you could still hear the snapping of bones, the wet squelching and tearing of flesh beneath the blade. Robert's throat being crushed beneath a powerful, skeletal hand. A deep sense of vertigo rolled your stomach but you managed to barely hold on to not puke.

Gaster sighed deeply through his tight mouth, keeping his grip on your arm as he went to work patching you up. With a splash of hydrogen peroxide you let out a scream, your fingers clutching the air as your muscles spasmed from the burning sensation but he held your wrist firmly in his hand as you writhed. The liquid sizzled loudly in your open gash on top of your wracking sobs, you tried to muffle your strained noises in the palm of your hand but it didn't do much.

“I apologize, my dear,” he murmured, “I must do this.”

You could barely process what he was saying before you felt his sickly oozing tongue press into the cut from one end, you cried out and writhed as his prodding tongue harshly shoved through the gash and stroked along the deep wound. You couldn't take this, you begged for him to stop between sobs but he kept on at a steady pace across the cut, being sure his pointed magic embedded as far as it could go. As his slick tongue swiped clear of the wound you felt dizzy, your muscles twitching as your tried to get a grip but it just wasn't going to happen. You fell forward from the table and were wrapped in a strong, hard embrace with soft, warm fabric at the side of your face.

 

***

A voice drew your from the depths of unconsciousness, your body felt heavy and your eyes stung. You were laying on your side on top of soft sheets, facing the voice as it became more clear.

“That was impressive,” a lighter pitched voice beamed, it got no response so it continued, “no hesitation! Man and I thought Sans was tough..”

You groaned softly as you pulled a hand up to your face, rubbing at your flushed skin and eyes before gaining the courage to open them. The room had a much softer lighting in it, not as bright as the rest of the facility. Your eyes caught onto the edge of the plush sheets you were laying on, lingering there as you processed you were laying on a bed before moving on to the nightstand where Flowey sat wrapped around a bottle of scotch.

“You were pre-war with King Asgore, weren'tcha?” Flowey hummed curiously, only to get no response.

You focused in on the flower but he wasn't looking at you, you followed his gaze up and to the left to find Gaster standing with his back to the both of you and hands clasped behind it. You murmured his name to which he slightly turned to look over his shoulder at you, Flowey whirled his head around to you and began to laugh.

“Gee, I didn't expect you to actually pass out like that,” he mused, he seemed invigorated.

Gaster made his way over to you slowly, peering down at you with his chin up. You felt too heavy to move but kept eye contact with him, you two stared each other down but this time he was the one to make the first move. He came to the side of the bed and sat down beside you, taking his clawed fingers to swipe the hair from your face.

“I-i'm okay,” you choked out, swallowing dryly, “that was just.. really intense..”

“You knew that human?” he asked, devoid of emotion.

You sighed, rubbing at your eyes once more as Gaster pushed the hair from your neck before resting his hand on your thigh. He was incredibly warm, but you didn't mind the comfort. It was uncharacteristic of him, it was nice.

“Yeah, I used to work with him.. He's how I met Sans..” you explained, coughing lightly before going on, “He tried to grab me but Sans scared him away.”

Flowey perked up, “That guy was a complete idiot. Fell for anything you told him as long as it was negative.”

Gaster turned his gaze to the flower, you couldn't make out his expression but you felt a tremor reverberate in the room threateningly which startled Flowey to continue, “J-just for a bit of fun-”

You huffed, rolling your eyes, “Yeah, I got to smash a glass full of alcohol into his face because of you.”

The scientist blinked at that but you didn't feel like explaining. Your head was still spinning at the trauma you endured though your hand had stopped hurting, you slowly drew it up to your face and were met with a sickly black slash mark through your palm. It looked just like a tattoo and you sighed loudly, it would be impossible to try landing another job with these weird marks you couldn't cover up.

“Hey, just think of it this way.. Undyne always says that scars are attractive. Those marks are just like scars, right?”

Your gut twisted, you'd be scarred for life with these marks. With these memories. The marking upon your neck and hand twitched as Gaster raised a hand to the flower, shutting him up. You laid there in silence for a bit before looking back up at the scientist and murmured, “Did you have to kill him..?”

“Yes,” he didn't hesitate, his words were cold.

Carefully you pushed yourself up into a sitting position, Gaster removed his hand and stood up from the bed with his hands in his pockets as he walked towards a small desk against the wall. You hunched your shoulders and sat cross legged on the bed as you looked around, you were in his bedroom. It was rather bland but you noticed the multiple bottles of hard liquor on the desk and nightstand which Flowey was curled up around.

The doctor picked something up off of the desk and brought it back to you, it was a bottle of water. You gently took it from him, not minding that your fingers brushed along his and twisted the cap off. As you drank the man quietly left the room, the heavy doors closing behind him as he made his way down the hall. Probably to clean up from what had happened. You guzzled down the bottle, tearing your lips away from the plastic with a sigh as you looked to Flowey.

“Why are we in here..?” you asked.

“Beats me, he just sort of carried you in. He doesn't talk to me,” he shrugged a leaf, surprisingly you hadn't realized that until now. You really hadn't heard him speak a word to the flower during your time here or even before that.

Sighing you fiddled the cap back onto the bottle, you'd just have to hang out in here for a bit. You didn't really want to go out into the hall right now, you didn't want to see any of the mess and Gaster was being oddly quiet to you again. Just when you thought he was opening up too..

“You said something about him being pre-war..?” you murmured, tapping your fingers against the plastic as Flowey nodded.

“Yeah, a few monsters were pre-war. Grillby, King Asgore.. Toriel..”

“What does that.. mean exactly?” you remembered that Grillby had been pre-war and how he said humans didn't scare him.

“Well they fought back against the humans, eventually they lost and got shut down in the underground,” he stated blandly.

“..I guess he's killed a lot of people, huh?”

“Sure has. They all did,” Flowey replied.

As you looked around the room, over the various papers scattering his desk with the alcohol resting atop them.. coupling this new information with what you already knew you began to try piecing this monster together. He was removed of emotion, odd and dangerous and not to mention highly intelligent. He was estranged from his kids which he refers to as 'clones', you felt your soul quiver as you came to the realization that Gaster was not a happy monster. You didn't know which sin he had confessed to during your drinking game but what did it matter? There were too many. He wasn't phased by killing Robert because he's already done it so many times.

He was used to war, to violence. To struggling. When Robert lunged for you that instinct in him snapped, he reacted as he would have against any merciless opponent. He had protected you even though his actions were overzealous and malicious.. No, they were.. vengeful.

“You're okay, right?” Flowey murmured, you looked up to him and slightly smiled as you set the water bottle next to you on the bed.

“Y-yeah.. Yeah I'll be okay. I think.. I think I'm starting to understand everything a bit better now.”

 

You chatted with Flowey for what felt like an hour but you began to worry as Gaster never came back, you picked up the flower and set him on your unmarked shoulder before leaving the room. You looked to the door to his study, peeking in to find it empty. With a sigh you turned and walked back to the main corridor, you could smell the soft tinge of chlorine and wrinkled your nose at it. You hated bleach. Standing at the door to the main hall you hesitated, not knowing what to expect but Flowey helped quell your anxiety as he spoke.

“It's all right, I can look for you if you want,” you nodded to his words, closing your eyes as you pulled open the door and stepped out into the hall. You stood in the hall motionless, slowly breathing in and out as you felt Flowey wriggle on your shoulder to look down the hall to the lobby.

“You can look, nothing's there,” he almost sounded disappointed.

You nodded and spun away from the lobby to walk to the double doors, if Flowey didn't see anything in the room then there was no point in going to the lobby. You opened your eyes as you pushed inside and looked around to find Gaster standing in front of some strange machine. The purple heart within it glowing faintly as it was trapped inside a little tube in the device, you carefully shut the door and made your way inside. Being mindful of the various tables and chairs as you stepped around on the cold tile barefoot.

Coming up next to him you looked at the soul and murmured, “It's not what I was expecting..”

“Nor I,” the man replied calmly.

“.. What does this soul stand for..?” you murmured, feeling comforted from standing by the large monster as he pulled a hand from his pocket and made a motion with it beside you.

“Perserverance.”

“Tcht.. that explains it..” you mumbled, he never did give up on his attacks to you.

“Indeed.”

“So.. What happens now?” looking up to him, his white face basked in the violet light he exhaled a bit of air onto the tube in front of him which fogged it slightly.

“I can have the prince's soul ready within a day.”

“Th-that fast?” you blinked, looking back to the purple heart in the machine with Flowey.

You saw him nod in your peripheral as you yawned gently, drawing his eyes over to you.

“Get some rest,” he spoke, the black marks on your skin tingling.

You just shook your head, biting the inside of your cheek as you kept your feet firmly to the floor.

“..As you wish,” he murmured, turning away from you to walk to a nearby monitor but you reached out and caught his hand.

The black marks on your skin began to tingle as he stopped and turned his shoulders towards you, his undamaged brow lifting while keeping a flat expression. Your fingers nervously twitched at the base of his fingers and the edges of the sharp hole through his palm.

“I just wanted to say.. Well..” your teeth bit into your cheek before you sighed and whispered, “Thanks.”

He remained emotionless. Yet his thumb hooked around yours while spreading his fingers for yours to slide into. He folded his lankly digits over your delicate hand while your soul gave a harsh pulse of light, a flush rising into your cheeks as you stood there silently. He didn't say anything. You felt jittery as time drew on so you brought your free hand up to your face.

Nervously you finally sputtered under his deep stares, “W-what?”

Instead of a verbal response his mouth cracked into a light smile, drawing your attention back up to him to find a real expression on his white face. It was soft, barely noticeable and you could only describe it being curious.

“I.. I mean it. I don't think you had to.. had to do what you did.. But I appreciate that you defended me,” your voice was soft, your words were true though uneven in tone as you tried to forget what you saw, “It was bound to happen to him eventually anyways..”

Gaster kept quiet, holding his hand was a strange feeling. Magical energy warmed against your soul just as his hand did to yours, you glanced down to catch Flowey giving you the most shit eating grin on the planet and you flushed deeply. In sync you both released your grip on each other as he went back over to the monitor and began typing in a sequence of information. You never quite knew how to respond to him when he was so flat with emotion and body language, the little differences here and there made it so difficult. But yet, the room was relaxed.

Flowey wiggled his brow at you as you sighed and cracked a grin, whispering, “Shut up.”

“I didn't say anything,” he purred.

 

You three spent the rest of the night in the lab, you watched as Gaster would meander back and forth to the machine and as time went on the soul began to fragment piece by piece. He was separating the different components of the soul. Eventually you jumped up onto a padded exam table next to him as he typed strange symbols into the monitor beside the machine, you laid on your side with Flowey curled up in the neck of the sweater as he had already fallen asleep. Drowsily you watched the symbols on the screen, it reminded you of some kind of dumb font you had played with as a kid in school.

The longer you stared at the symbols they would start to quiver and fade with a white font fading in above them, translating the writing into English. This would hurt your eyes after a bit and what he was typing was foreign to you anyways. Seeking relief from the confusing text you let your eyelids fall and sighed, tucking your arm beneath your head as the other pressed up to your chest. Your breaths began to even and slow down, sleep taking over your exhausted form as Gaster glanced over. There was a tugging at your brightening soul to which you both slightly smiled at as he went back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this week's update!  
> I split the chapter up into two parts for easier consumption as we pushed through THIRTY-SEVEN pages.  
> Also I hit my first ever goal of 100,000 words and can't tell you guys how awesome this ride has been. You all are so fabulous and every person who has taken the time from their lives to read my writing is just.. simply amazing.  
> Here's a celebratory pic for all of you: http://allocatealoe.tumblr.com/post/140352698486/a-little-quick-celebratory-pic-of-the-latest
> 
> We are far from done with this story so don't you get too comfortable with the soft ending of this update. ;)


	26. Mid-Afternoon with a Flower and a Lich

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of last night left you unsure, missing your friends and crestfallen.  
> Yet spending time with your unlikely friends helps you think of a proper plan for when it's time to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys. Moment you've been waiting for!  
> I have three chapters coming out but only two will be posted for now as I'm sticking to my 4-5 day schedule. I have a bit more text to add to the third chapter in the bomb that will need some time to refine and edit but it will be out by Tuesday at the latest.  
> Thank you for all the comments, suggestions and reactions. You all are wonderful!  
> (Also shout out to dirtyskellylover, I told you I was going to make that comment canon you sly dog.)
> 
> Enjoy!  
> PS you'll need this song for later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lstsp7q13EY

White floors, darkened walls. Heavy and confused you managed to glance around the dream scape, filled with deja vu from those times Gaster met you in your sleep. But the room was hazy and not as clear. With a grunt you pressed forward through the room, the air gripping onto your form like pushing through thick silicone. It strained your muscles, your eyes and your soul as you fought inward.

A twinge of color. You hesitated at the small form before you, it was also struggling against the oppressive atmosphere. Your soul pulsed a brilliant golden light within your chest, you were filled with determination. Struggling to thrust and twist your body through the fog towards the figure they became more and more clear the closer you became, they were looking straight up at you and with one more agonizing step realization hit your gut in a spine shuddering wave.

It was Frisk. They reached up towards you, you opened your mouth but your words sounded as if you were underwater. With a flash of your soul you managed to pull yourself forward, collapsing to the floor to grab onto the child and pulled them against your chest. It was like taking a breath of air, you both gasped and shuddered as warmth flooded your senses and strove away the pressure to your limbs.

“F-frisk.. oh my god,” you wanted to sob, clutching the child's back as they sunk their fingers into your baggy shirt. After a moment you pulled back to look at their face, they smiled to you with tears in their eyes and let go to sign to you. You frowned, not understanding their motions for a moment until shaky translations wove into your mind.

_'where are you?'_

You blinked rapidly, this must just be a weird dream.. This couldn't be real, you didn't understand sign language. Your mouth opened regardless.

“I'm not sure.. underground somewhere.. a lab?”

The child shook their head and signed more jerkily, their bottom lip quivering.

_'we looked there, you're not in the lab. Describe it to me,_ _**please.** _ _'_

The room around you both shuddered, feeling your consciousness getting pulled apart and distort the room. You struggled to stay lucid, focusing on the fading child's face. They signed once more, urgency making their arms tremble.

_**'please.'** _

The words tumbled from your mouth, “There's an elevator in a tiled lobby, it's a small laboratory somewhere probably underground. There are _a lot_ of floors.. But the elevator is busted and cables broken. I couldn't climb out.”

The child's expression went wide, processing what you were saying. You grabbed onto the child's shoulders, the dreamscape fading and distorting further as the scent of coffee was snapping your ability to keep lucid.

“Don't look for me. I'll be home soon, I promise..”

Frisk furrowed their brow into a determined scowl, you shook your head wildly as you felt the child fade from your hands, you tried to shout out but it came as a whisper while a white light overwhelmed the both of you.

“You can't bring Sans here-!”

The light blinded you, the smell of coffee shattering the dream as Frisk slipped from your fingers.

 

You stirred around noon the next day with a soft grunt, the smell of coffee filled your senses as a bright light beat upon your eyelids. Flicking your eyes open warily you realize you're still in the lab which finally had it's lights on, they were too bright to try to look around just yet. You let out a moan as you stretch your limbs, popping your back and shoulders with a satisfied sigh. Slowly you pulled yourself up and rubbed at your eyes but when you removed your hand you found Gaster standing right in front of the table, almost glaring down at you with a cup of coffee in his hand.

“What was that..?” he murmured.

You scrunched your brow and blinked rapidly up at him, not understanding what he meant. Did he mean the dream..? Did he see you talking to Frisk?

He noticed your deep state of confusion and murmured, “That cracking noise.”

You continued to blink before letting out a laugh of both relief and sheepishness. Of course he couldn't see into your dreams, dreams weren't real and only Gaster had control of magic like that, “Oh! It's just my joints popping.”

He continued to glare down at you with his chin lifted, you ran your hand back through your hair as you heard Flowey speak up behind the scientist, you let out a yawn as the flower spoke, “Yeah Frisk does that all the time, too.”

You rubbed at the side of your face, recovering from the yawn before shifting on the table a tad, looking back up to the scientist, “It's uh.. Well, when you put distance between the joints it creates a negative space to which some fluid rushes in to fill it which creates the popping sound. It's relatively harmless, I think,” you sat up fully on the table, turning your body to face him with your legs tucked up beside you as you cupped your fist in your right hand to press down on your knuckles, effectively cracking them, “See?”

“Interesting..” he murmured, his eyes softening but only slightly.

You noticed what he was carrying and pointed to it, fixing the loose shirt over your neck and shoulder with the other hand, “You gotta give me some of that.”

A smirk cracked over his face, “Do I now?”

“Yeah, I'm not even kidding,” you laughed, the smell of fresh coffee stimulating your system. It felt like weeks since you've had coffee. Your body must have been craving it so badly it called to you deep within your dreams.

“As you wish,” he held the cup out to you which you took gratefully, cradling the hot ceramic between both hands as he turned and went back to work. You looked down into the cup, it was black and half empty but you didn't mind. Taking a drink you looked around and spotted your clothes folded on the table in front of you with your shoes placed underneath it, Flowey was sitting in an empty white coffee mug beside your jacket and was watching Gaster work.

The coffee was actually quite strong but it felt wonderful, you took your time to fully wake up as you watched the machine with the fractured soul inside of it. The purple heart was now completely split into multiple pieces and was turning white, you didn't understand what it meant but everything appeared to be going smoothly as Gaster was rather calm. You thought back to the brief dream, he surely would be acting differently if you had actually spoken to Frisk. He would have had to create the dream himself as well, there's no other way that you could speak with the child and you highly doubted he would do that. You thought maybe your soul created the connection..? No, only his magic was that strong or specialized.. you shook your head lightly, you were just probably missing your friends back home. You finished off the rest of the drink before sighing and hopped down to the floor, the balls of your feet lightly patting against the cold tile.

You crossed the distance to the table, setting down the empty mug to pick through your clothes, finally you wouldn't be going commando any longer. You glanced over and blushed as you found Flowey watching you holding your panties, you swiped the skimpy fabric to your chest and yipped, “Hey, don't look you weirdo!”

You gently pushed the mug across the table as he just rolled his eyes and turned his back to you as you slid on your panties then leggings beneath the borrowed turtleneck. You paused as you held your tank top, Flowey letting out a sigh as he grumbled, “You done yet?”

“Yeah,” you replied, laying the tank top back onto your jacket as the flower turned around and scoffed.

“You didn't even change!”

“Did so!” you lightly lifted the shirt to show your black leggings, Flowey merely stared at you as you crossed your arms over your chest and cuddled into the thick turtleneck, “It's comfortable, leave me alone.”

It was comfortable, plus it was a thick enough fabric to which you didn't have to worry about wearing an uncomfortable bra all day. You couldn't help but feel a tad selfish over hogging the shirt but you had never owned such a nice piece of clothing before, you didn't want to give it up just yet. Besides if all you were going to do is lounge around you might as well be comfortable.

The black marks on your skin tingled softly as you looked over and saw Gaster watching you two over his shoulder curiously, you swore you saw him smile before he turned back to the screen. Humming lightly you turned and looked around the room for your phone but didn't see it anywhere, Gaster must have had it in his coat and you bit at your cheek a tad disappointed. Music would have been nice to listen to. Instead you went around the table and sat up onto it beside Flowey as you watched the scientist's back, turning your attention back to the changing soul before speaking up, you wanted to push that dream far from your mind.

“So.. I see that it's split apart but.. what does a monster soul even look like, anyways? Like those little white pieces?”

Gaster finished whatever he was doing at the monitor and turned fully to you, placing a hand in his pocket while the other positioned itself in front of his chest, “No, would you like for me to show you, my dear?”

Blinking you nodded, leaning forward with your hands on the edge of the table between your legs. The man remained emotionless as his fingers twitched and curled at his chest before drawing his arm out carefully, you felt your jaw go slack as a white upside down heart was pulled forth to float before him. You heard Flowey gasp as your eyes transfixed on two black holes on the surface of the heart with deep black cracks splitting across the glossy surface from them. The holes were rimmed in black ooze, flecks of golden energy running across the surface. You swallowed as you realized those golden shimmers were from him piggybacking your soul. You blinked up to his face as the man pushed the soul back inside of his chest.

“Are they.. supposed to look like that?”

“No.”

“What happened..?” you murmured, Gaster didn't enjoy being stared at by you two so he turned his back on you and touched at the monitor to continue the prompt commands.

“Sans and Papyrus,” he muttered.

“Oh..” you were quiet, looking over to Flowey who met your equally confused face. If he had made Sans and Papyrus all those years ago it was amazing he was still alive, let alone to do that to himself twice. You weren't sure to chalk it up to desperation or his own sick sense of curiosity.. He knew so much about souls but what he did was irreversible and irreparable, even for him.

You heard a soft ticking coming from the machine which immediately pulled your attention to it. The shards of the soul spread further from each other, most of them being sucked into the machine while the small few ones remained and pressed together with a bright white glow. The fractures formed into a bubbling blob, churning within itself.

“That's it?” Flowey scoffed, Gaster's shoulders trembled as he laughed lightly.

“No.”

“It's probably just trying to fuse but it's not very stable,” you smiled to the flower, “we're getting closer though. At least Robert could have been some use to somebody..”

The flower nodded as you slid off of the table and picked up the coffee mug with Flowey inside of it, now you had thoughts of Robert's cold dead eyes and needed a distraction. What a great morning so far, you sighed but smiled through it, “Come with me to make some breakfast.”

“Do I have much of a choice?” he asked, blinking slowly up at you as you giggled.

“Unless you like hanging with G,” you mused, glancing over at the scientist who was using a summoned hand to select through commands on the screen in front of him. You lowered your voice and brought Flowey up to your face gently, “I don't think he's a very exciting person to talk to.”

A puff of air pressed through the doctors tight jaw, “I am plenty, my dear.”

You couldn't hold back a fit of giggles as the doctor turned and looked at you, the corner of his mouth twitched into a vague resemblance of a smile. You met his eyes briefly before turning to leave, “Thanks for the coffee, G. We'll be outside.”

He gave a soft hum before turning back to his work and you continued forth to press past the large double doors and into the hallway.

“Why'd you bother to tell him where we are? It's not like he doesn't know,” Flowey muttered as you curiously stepped down the hall and looked over the doors lining it. You had wanted to explore and now you could, the perfect distraction from your dream and the memories of last night. You reached for one of the doors on the left and opened it to find an empty broom closet, frowning as you replied.

“I dunno.. just seemed like a nice way to end a conversation,” you shrugged as you closed the door and padded down the hall a little further to the second mystery door.

“You've got Stolkholm Syndrome,” he mused, tilting his head as you opened the next door and you both peered inside. It was an exact replica of the room Gaster brought you into when you had arrived, a bed and a nightstand across the small plain room. You closed the door and turned across the other side of the hallway to try the final door, your brow scrunching up.

“No I just don't feel he's that bad of a guy.. Once you get to sort of know him,” you twisted the handle of the door and pried it open, expecting something more but only came face to face with a supply closet full of chemicals. The strong scent of bleach made you nearly reel back as you pushed the door shut with a slam.

Flowey coughed lightly from the stench before tilting his head up to you with a smug grin, “That's exactly what Stolkholm syndrome is.”

“Well if I've got Stolkholm syndrome then he has Lima syndrome,” you snorted, quickly stepping back down the hall to the lounge to escape the harsh chemical smell.

“Lima syndrome..?” he asked, furrowing his brow as you carried him into the open lounge, a few light bulbs went unreplaced but mostly the room looked just as it had before. Even the bottle of scotch you left on the table was still there.

“It's the opposite of stolkholm syndrome, in some cases the aggressor will even let their hostages go,” you explained, stepping towards the kitchen. You really didn't feel like instant noodles but you knew you had to eat something.

“Well he has yet to do that for you, huh?” he snickered.

“I don't want to leave yet, not until you get your soul back anyways,” you stated, rounding the island while Flowey digested your words quietly. You came up to the fridge which was humming softly. Excitement tickled your skin as you grabbed onto the door and flung it open to be met with a cool breeze and stocked shelves, you squeaked happily as you were met with various containers of fruits, a carton of eggs, some milk and bread. Now this was more like it.

Flowey let out a whistle as you set him down on the counter beside you and snatched up the ingredients, putting them on the counter next to him to start making breakfast. You found it funny how this was all you needed to make your weekend breakfasts, a comfort for you. As you went to work finding a pan for the eggs and a plate to cut up the fruit Flowey spoke up once more.

“So after all this you think he will let us _both_ go home?”

You nodded confidently as you started the eggs first, they sizzled as you spoke, “Yeah why not? I can imagine he likes being by himself anyways.”

“So even though you have his magic on your soul, you think he'll just let you walk?” the flower's eyes narrowed up at you as you let his words sit in your head for a moment.

“Well.. to be honest I'm not sure what's going to happen,” you sighed as you moved over to rummage through a drawer for something to use to cut up some strawberries, “Sans isn't going to be pleased about the marks, he'll probably flip his lid.. possibly hate me for it.”

You murmured as you fished around the drawer, various utensils now lay inside of it including a small knife. You smiled as you grabbed it and shut the drawer with your hip, moving on to open the box and pulled a handful of berries onto the plate to cut off the stems.

Flowey hummed thoughtfully, “Possibly.. What do you _want_ to happen?”

You blinked at the question as you sliced the red berries, stains of red juice slipping over the blades cold edge, “I.. I'm not sure.. In a perfect scenario with no realistic expectations I'd like to think you would live with Toriel and Frisk, I could keep my flat next to you guys with a new job that pays better so I have more time off to spend with you all. As for Sans.. and Gaster..”

You bit into your cheek as you finished up with your pile of fruit, nicely diced and pushed to the side, “I'd like to think he'd leave the underground with us-”

“You can't be serious,” he sighed.

“No, no hear me out,” you smirked, glancing down at him as he watched you shut the box of berries and return it to the fridge. You came back just in time to flip the eggs, “He knows a lot about magic, about souls, right?”

“Yeeah..?”

“Well, what if he helped out politically? With his knowledge and data I'm sure he could sway opinion and help lift the ban on magic.”

“..You're insane,” he turned his gaze to you in disbelief.

“What..? You asked me what would happen in a perfect scenario..” you shrugged, turning the burner off to plate the protein before stepping to the sink to wash the pan out. It sizzled and smoked under the cold water but you made quick work of it and placed it back on the stove top to dry, “What do I think will _realistically_ happen..? Probably one of three things..”

You checked over everything to make sure the kitchen was spotless, tossing the berry stems in a garbage bin on the end of the counter before picking up your plate in one hand, Flowey's mug in the other, and strode to the couches to sit down. You set the mug on the table as you sat across from him with your plate in your lap, stabbing into a strawberry as you went on, “One scenario is that they both will fight each other until one is left standing..”

You stuffed the berry slice into your mouth, chewing thoughtfully and swallowed before going on, “Two is that you get to go home, but I can't come with you.. And three is that I go home too, but because of these marks Sans never speaks to me again and I lose a dear friend.. in any situation I lose a friend.”

You blinked rapidly, a lump forming in your throat before you distracted yourself with the process of eating through your plate. Flowey exhaled softly before looking over the room, he let you work through half of your food before chuckling and turned back to you, “You regret being friends with monsters yet?”

“Nah, not a chance bucko,” you chuckled through your bites, fresh food felt so good compared to the crappy instant noodles. An odd twinge pulled against your soul as you realized that Gaster did that explicitly for you, you weren't sure how to feel about that.

“Though, I do miss Sans, Jenny.. and Chip. Also Frisk,” you giggled, “Especially Papyrus and Undyne..”

“Would you miss.. this place?” he asked, he seemed genuine as you finished your plate and met his gaze.

“..Probably not this place in particular,” you glanced around the room but quickly pulled your eyes back to the flower, “But I think I would miss Gaster, if just a tad.”

Flowey's gaze became sly as you hunched over, resting your elbows on your knees and set your chin in the palms of your hands, “He's just.. interesting. I want to know more about monsters, more about magic.. Nobody else seems to want to talk to me about these things.”

“Even after what he's done?” he flicked his eyes to your neck then back into your eyes, “I know what that mark means.. it wasn't consensual.”

The words hit your soul, it throbbed against the accusation but you knew it was true. The doctor did whatever he wanted to you, he was feeding off of your soul after all and you got a glimpse of that in lab a few minutes ago. Those golden flecks were yours. Sans was aggressive but he had asked, there was no discussion with Gaster. A deep itch at the back of your mind made you slightly frown, did he think he owned you?

“Yeah.. it wasn't,” you stood from the couch abruptly, holding the plate in your hand as you looked away from Flowey with a hint of shame, “In all honesty Flowey.. I think he did that so he could monitor how my soul responds to various things. He said it was 'overcharged', if it hadn't been.. he would have likely killed me to pull himself from the void.”

You cleared your throat as your chest began to ache from the harsh memories, “Maybe I am getting a tad too comfortable here..”

Looking back to the flower you smiled, “But I can't do anything about it right now, I want you to have your life back.. you're family to me after all, I meant what I said.. and if this is what I have to endure as a side experiment that's okay. He'll eventually get bored of it and let me go, or let me go to see how I react to life above ground.. Either way, I'll be all right.”

You nodded confidently, your soul giving a flush of energy as you stepped away from the couches and to the kitchen to clean your plate in the sink. As you rinsed it off you were left to your thoughts, a sinking feeling building in your gut as you wondered if he would let you go. You didn't want to stay in this place forever.. you missed the sun, your friends, your home. As you set the utensils away there was a deep pull on your soul, the lights around you faded curiously. Blinking you glanced around, noticing how the counter and sink were draped in shadow. Slowly you turned and jumped back against the counter as Gaster was looming right behind you, the startle sent your heart racing as you clutched at your chest.

“Jesus christ, G. Don't do that to me!” you wheezed, the counter pressing deeply into your lower back.

The man gently hunched forward while bringing his hand up to your face, softly brushing a lock of hair from your eyes as he murmured, “My dear, you are free to leave whenever you wish. You just never asked.”

Blinking rapidly you stood in shock, he was a tad too close for comfort. You could smell his faint natural scent, reminding you of sandalwood as his claws digits touched your skin, “E-eh..?”

He blinked slowly down at you, “You won, remember?”

“I didn't expect you to actually honor that.. you just gave me the win..” you muttered, trapped between the scientist and the counter as his hand brushed your hair from your neck to expose the bite marks. His gaze turned towards the circle of black triangles stained upon your skin before flicking his white eyes back to yours and straightened up to place his hand back into his coat pocket.

“You already gave me a favor, you allowed me to pull myself from the void. It is only fair, my dear.”

An excited pulse flushed through your soul, digesting his words before you lunged forward and wrapped your arms around him tightly, “Thank you.”

He stood there, almost in shock as he tilted his head down at you. You were squeezing him quite hard, relief flooding your mind as you sighed. You had tried to remain optimistic in the situation, hoped that it would end peacefully but him confirming it for you sealed the deal. After a moment you pulled your arms out from around him, tracing your fingers along the sides of his coat to rest on the black edges beneath the flaps of the collar. You looked up with a brilliant smile. He took his right hand and chuckled, slipping a curled finger up under your jaw tenderly as he spoke.

“Would you like to go home now?”

You watched his face, starting to get a handle on how he showed emotion as his undamaged socket drooped slightly almost looking sleepy. You thought for a moment, if you left now Flowey would be alone with the scientist and it didn't seem as if they got along very well. Not many people got along with Flowey, you couldn't leave him. The offer for the scientist to take you back immediately secured your positivity, deep within your soul you knew he wasn't lying. You gently shook your head, “Nah. Not without Flowey. I can wait a bit more..”

He kept his finger beneath your chin, tilting it up slightly as he pressed his face closer to yours. Your heart skipped a beat as his hot breath slipped against your lips, he murmured gently to you, “As you wish.”

A flutter shook your soul at the tension building around the both of you, it felt like your heart would break through your rib cage as your hands gripped onto the sides of his dark lab coat. Your train of thought crashed and burned as his breath kissed your lips. The fabric between your fingers felt relatively smooth as you gripped to it, his gaze enrapturing your body as time seemed to move in slow motion. All it took was a soft tilting of your head, pressing your lips against his warm, hard face. He let out a soft puff of air, a tinge of his vocal cords tickled your lips as his mouth parted and you followed suite as you closed your eyes.

Sinking into the gentle kiss he tilted away ever so slightly as the tip of his black, inky tongue swiped inquisitively across your lower lip. With bated breath your tongue curiously slid across his, your lips meeting back at his own as the taste of him sent shivers down your spine. As you explored him your tongue gave a soft jolt of feeling an empty space at the mid of his tongue, you gently rimmed around the hole as it was a perfect circle just like the ones in his hands. The only way to describe it was like hard gelatin, tasting of scotch and the slight aftertaste of coffee grounds, the flavor filled the back of your throat and nostrils. The inside of his mouth was hot, that inky tendril delicately fondled yours with a heavy tingling sensation sparking across your tongue and black marks upon your skin. A soft moan rolled from your throat to which he slid his long fingers back across your neck and gripped tenderly at the back of your skull, the other hand traced it's way over your arm and to your back to keep you pressed against him.

Tenderly he pressed his slippery, dripping tongue into your mouth to which your body shuddered at. Your mouth certainly felt colder than his own, it drew a soft hum from his chest as he swiped alongside your tongue in a playful wrestle. You melted in his arms, this was unlike anything you'd ever experienced before. You could feel your soul shuddering, beaming in brilliant warmth as his fingertips sunk into your skin with desire. Gently rolling your tongue to his you managed to give each other one last parting touch before you drew back with an audible, soft peck of your lips.

You were left breathless, lightly panting as a flush took over your skin while your eyelids fluttered open and you gazed up through your eyelashes. He seemed equally as entranced, his fingers gently combing out from your hair to settle back down on the back of your head thoughtfully. His eyes were genuinely soft, his mouth curved into a shallow smile and as you gazed at him taking in the texture, the cracks, and the solidity of his neck to his jawline you felt your fingers twitch against the fabric of his coat.

A loud grunting from across the room snapped you to reality, flushing brilliantly you took a step back as he dropped his hands from your body and placed them inside of his pockets. You drew your arms across your chest, gripping onto the sleeves as your pressed the sides of your hands against your lips to absorb the soft moisture that had built up on them. You turned your attention back to the lounge area and found that Flowey was sitting slouched in the mug, his leaves folded over his stem with a parent-like glare at the both of you.

“Lima, Stolkholm.. Get a room,” he snickered loudly, which dissolved into hysterical cackling as you turned bright red and turned away from the flower. That all just happened, you kissed him. You could still taste and smell him as you stood there awkwardly with your heart beating a million miles a second. You wanted to feel guilty, but instead excitement shivered down your spine. No one had ever kissed you like that.

Gaster hummed thoughtfully beside you through the flowers laughter, he gently brought his hand from his pocket to brush his knuckles across your arm to get your attention. You peered up at him over the top of your balled up hands nervously, he just chuckled and spoke clearly while handing out your phone towards you, “My dear.. when you want to leave, let me know.”

Tentatively you dropped a hand and took the phone from him. With that he turned, stepping around the counter, passing the lounge towards the hallway and with a flick of his wrist a summoned hand suddenly materialized next to Flowey's mug. A finger swiped down across the rim of the cup and sent it wobbling wildly before vanishing. The flower gasped and growled as he swayed his stem to center himself and secure the cup back down to the wood, Flowey spun towards the hall and hissed loudly at Gaster's back before he disappeared down the hall.

A soft giggle rose in your throat as you swept your tongue over your lips, the soft aftertaste of coffee and alcohol tingling in your mouth while you looked down to your phone and clicked the lock button. The screen flashed and displayed the time, it was in the mid-afternoon but there was no date. Gingerly you padded back over to the lounge, feeling light on your feet before dropping down onto the cushions and scrolled to your music player to start up a playlist before kicking your legs out across the couch. Flowey huffed, turning back to you as you looked up and met him with a deep smile on your face.

You felt electric from the kiss, from being ensured you'd be able to go home and see your friends. It had pushed away your uncomfortable anxiety from the dream which you were sure was just a dream, you missed everyone but you'd see them soon. Flowey just laughed and shook his head as the gentle music took over the room, lyrics filling up the empty spaces as you floated there. Your soul felt powerful, the black marks upon your skin tingling ever so lightly. That was going to be your plan, save Flowey by getting him his soul back and have Gaster take you both home. You would walk across the hall, knock on Toriel's door and be swept into the chaos but you felt you could handle it.

“Why are you so happy?” Flowey smirked.

You sighed, draping up against the arm of the couch as you set the phone down on the cushions beside you so the speakers faced upwards, “It's almost over..”

“He could just be manipulating you,” he rolled his eyes but his words fell flat.

“Maybe..” you drew your hand up to run through your hair and push it from your flushed face, “or I could be manipulating him.”

Flowey's eyes widened as you passed him a wink, you wouldn't lie to yourself and say the man was a bad kisser or that you didn't enjoy what happened. It sparked something within you, the way he could touch you.. This man was smooth. You shivered as you remembered his hot breath on your neck,  _ ' _ _You've not known passion until you lie with a sinner, my darling.'_

You bit your bottom lip, a giddy tremble slipping down your spine as the music continued to play across the room. You had to take your mind off of him, you could feel your skin flushing as an inner twisting pulled at your insides. God damn, you wouldn't let your mind wander to perversions especially if Gaster could somewhat hear them. Turning to Flowey you cleared you throat and smiled, “Wanna play a game?”

“A game..?” he lifted an eyebrow as you bolted up from the couch and swept the mug up in your hand as you gripped your phone with the other.

“Yeah, let's see if G has any cards or something. We've got nothing better to do.”

You had meant to only walk but found yourself striding quickly down the hall to the double doors, nervousness nipping your heels as you stepped inside and found the scientist scribbling something down on a clipboard before turning to look up at you. You stayed at the door, holding it open with the back of your hand, “Hey, do you have any playing cards..?”

With a slight smirk cracking his lips he nodded, “In my desk,” he waved his writing hand before turning back to his work. 

“Sweet, thanks G,” you huffed, stepping out of the room to pull open the adjacent door and hustled down the hall. You weren't sure which desk he meant but figured it was the one in the study, you opened up the door and strode over to the large wooden desk. A blush creeping at your cheeks at the memory of his office chair and carefully set Flowey down on the tabletop as you pushed the chair to the side and opened the topmost drawer. You ran your hands over a few pens, shuffling around various papers gently before closing it and moving on to the second drawer as Flowey spoke up.

“You like him.”

You paused, your hand halting above the open drawer. You could see the playing cards inside but decided to answer before slowly dropping your hand inside to grab them, “What do you mean?”

“Are you serious? You just sucked face and have a nickname for him.”

You scoffed playfully as you shut the drawer and stacked the cards against your phone in one hand while picking up Flowey with the other, having pockets would have been nice, “You're just a kid, relationships are different than just.. being affectionate.”

You pushed the chair back where you found it and left the room, stepping lightly against the tiled floor as Flowey cooed, “Suuure.”

“No I'm totally serious!” you laughed, pushing open the last door to the hallway but stopped to continue your conversation to Flowey in private, you struggled with your wording as you knew you were still talking to a child, “Relationships.. Actual official relationships, are more than just being affectionate. You have to really know the person.. flaws and all. And if you really like them.. their flaws become little good aspects of their personality, it's what makes them.. them.”

The flower was listening, yet his eyebrow remained raised as you went on, “Relationships are a lot of work, they take a lot of communication and understanding. It's normal for humans to be affectionate at first as they get to know each other, most of the time it doesn't lead to a relationship.”

“Sooo you're testing the water?” he said slyly.

“W-what?”

“I get it. That's why you like wearing his shirt so much.. Is the fabric made out of  _boyfriend material?_ ”

“Oh god damnit Flowey,” you covered your mouth with the cards, muffling your embarrassed laughter, “N-no you little jerk. You'll understand when you get older.”

He rolled his eyes as he chuckled, you stepped towards the double doors and slid inside as your laughter died down to a sheepish smile. Luckily Flowey didn't want to continue this conversation in front of Gaster who had meandered back over to the tube with the fluctuating pieces inside of it and took down notes. You gently stepped into the room and set Flowey down on the table as you hopped onto it and sat cross legged, putting your phone down on the table next to you as it played it's gentle music. You opened the deck of cards and began to shuffle them idly in the palms of your hands, Flowey watched mesmerized as you skillfully mixed the cards together with soft fluttering filling the room.

Gaster continued to write on the pad as he spoke up softly, “Is this music from the surface new?”

You carefully listened to the song and shrugged, “What do you consider an old or a new song to be..? Release year wise.”

You began to flip cards out on the table facing Flowey as you set up a round of Black Jack, the scientist hummed for a moment, “I suppose I am unsure, time had no meaning while within the void.”

Nodding lightly you took in a breath before responding, “I'm sorry..”

“No need to be sorry, my dear.”

Flowey raised a brow as he looked down at the cards, instantly getting what the game was and tapped the rim of the mug with a leaf so you slapped down another card while speaking back on the original subject, “On the surface I guess something would be considered old if it was last year.. but to me I usually classify it as five to ten years or so.”

Flowey asked for another hit so you slapped down a fresh card, he hit twenty-one and smiled smugly up at you. You playfully glared at him before pushing the cards towards him to keep tally before slapping down another set of cards, you broke the silence by going on, “I think this song is a few years old.. but this type of music isn't played on the radio or anything. I just like how well it works for background noise.”

The music playing was a gentle chillstep song, the sound of ocean waves intermixing between the notes. You liked to play this song while you cleaned, it helped you focus on the task at hand just like playing cards with Flowey. You continued to play in silence, Flowey sighing as he went over twenty-one and you swiped the cards next to you with a teasing wink. You both went through a few rounds before you managed to glance over at Gaster to check on what he was doing just as the voice of a man played through the speakers,

_'We are playing a game. The game runs like this: the only thing you really know is what you can put into words.'_

He gently turned and met your gaze, you smiled as the voice went onward.

_'Let's suppose I love some girl, rapturously-'_

You turned back to Flowey as he tapped the side of his mug to call another hit, you slapped down a card and smirked at the flower but Gaster kept his eyes on you.

_'-and somebody says to me, 'Do you REALLY love her?' Well, how am I going to prove this?  
They'll say, 'Write poetry. Tell us all how much you love her. Then we'll believe you.'_

Tension built between you and the flower, focused in he smacked the rim of the mug and you pinned a card down to the table top. Letting out a laugh as he went clear over twenty-one and sighed with a deep irritation, holding onto the edge of the mug while leaning his stem and head back.

_'So if I'm an artist, and can put this into words, and can convince everybody I've written the most ecstatic love letter ever written, they say 'All right, ok, we admit it, you really do love her.'_

You swiped the cards and added them to your tally pile before flipping down another set, Flowey leaned in carefully to study the fresh batch and tapped the mug, you flipped a new card down. Gaster's mouth tugged gently as he watched.

_'But supposing you're not very articulate, are we going to tell you you DON'T love her?'_

The song then dropped, you smiled as Flowey tentatively tapped the side of his mug and you gasped as he landed a perfect twenty-one. He hissed and laughed with victory as you pushed the cards over to him. You flipped down another set as Gaster turned back to his work, the pen between his digits rolling idly between his fingers. 

 

You and Flowey went through quite a few rounds, the deck of cards dwindling before you had to call it and while it was a close game Flowey had won. You sighed in over exaggerated emotion as the flower cackled.

“Bested by a flower, what has my life devolved into?” you sighed, placing the back of your hand on your forehead as Flowey just snickered.

“Frisk taught me this game, we normally play between assemblies they have to attend,” he explained as you gathered the cards and shuffled them once more.

“They sound kind of intense..” you murmured, the cards caressing your skin as you mixed them.

“Nah, just a bunch of old men in a room who are way too easily intimidated,” he chuckled.

You smirked, “Intimidated by you? Or Asgore?”

He rolled his eyes, “You kidding? Of course Asgore.. Though I could have had them all fear me,” his teeth turned into pointed edges as he twisted his face. You just began to giggle wildly before replying.

“Well you scared me for awhile if that makes you feel better,” you fanned the cards between your fingers as you tried to decide on the next game you would play.

“Heh, I figured as much,” he grinned smugly, crossing his leaves in front of his stem.

Gaster gently spoke up, setting the clipboard down onto the table beside him as he turned to you both, “What is this about?”

“Oh, Frisk didn't tell you? They are the human ambassador for all monster kind, Toriel and Asgore help handle the real politics of course but Frisk is still considered a political influence.”

You played with the cards in your hands as you watched Gaster's facial expression, there wasn't one, “Recently humans passed a law, rather abruptly, that banned the use of magic. Whoever gets caught gets.. sent away.”

He hummed gently, slipping his hands inside of his coat pockets as you went on, “Frisk, Toriel and Asgore have been trying to remedy the situation by fighting the law with scientific evidence that suggests monster magic is weaker than a human soul. Or that humans are more powerful than they know, that there really isn't anything to be scared of as humans can withstand more punishment than an average monster.”

Flowey scoffed, “Humans are so easily terrified.”

You nodded, “They are.. Especially when things moved so quickly and we aren't used to magic, that was something made up in stories to tell children. Anyways, Alphys is trying to gather enough data to use to counter the law and suede public opinion but it's been a hard go.”

The flower sighed, rolling his eyes, “It won't work, she's too scared of messing everything up. Utterly useless.”

You glared at him, “Alphys is a sweetheart. She's very smart,” you began to shuffle the cards again idly, “she can build the most amazing things.. We all can't be great at everything, especially such a broad area such as science..”

Gaster watched the both of you quietly, you weren't sure what he was thinking. You bit into your lip gently before breaking the silence, “Though.. who knows, she could have done it and they may have already lifted the ban. We've been here for awhile now.. I guess we will find out.”

You shrugged as you turned back to Flowey and thought of playing Solitare but a nagging idea bit at your gut until you looked back up to the scientist who was checking the prompt beside him, “Hey G..?”

He glanced at you from over his shoulder, this was going to be a long shot.. but it was worth the try. You took a breath and let the words loose, “After this.. would you help out with that?”

He blinked slowly at the question, tapping the screen to shut down the prompt before fully turning towards you, “My dear, why would you want me to?”

“You must have so many years of research, you could heavily influence what happens on the surface,” you explained, his hardened stares didn't bother you as much as they had.

He paused, taking his time to breathe deeply before exhaling and responded, “Humanity is none of my concern..”

You felt your heart sink a tad at that, but he wasn't done, “.. Monsters are.”

Blinking you couldn't help but smile, he turned back to the machine and you went back to your card games with Flowey. It wasn't an exact yes or no but it was better than nothing.

 

It was about an hour later when the machine set out a loud clicking noise, pulling your attention towards a growing light from the white blob. Blinking you shielded your eyes from the light with an arm before the light began to finally ebb away. You struggled to focus on the new pure white soul floating inside of the tube, upside down just like Gaster's had been.

“Whoa..” you whispered, lowering your arm back down as the light faded into a gentle glow. Flowey's stem shuddered at the sight, he was breathless.

You looked to Gaster who was his usual self, his shoulders pulled back and face bland but there was a light twitching against your soul and skin as he watched the little white soul float gently within the tube. He drew in a deep breath and exhaled before meeting your gaze, “It's time.”

“I-is it going to hurt?” Flowey murmured, Gaster shook his head.

“No. But I will need some time to integrate and monitor the process,” he was staring at you as he spoke, which you found odd before he added, “My dear, you will have to wait outside. The process can effect your own soul, potentially drawing yours with it during the transformation.”

“W-what about you?” you asked, slipping off of the table with your phone in your hand as a soft chuckle thrummed through his throat.

“Souls are my specialty.”

You smiled sheepishly, nodding and looked to Flowey who met your gaze with a nervous grin, “I'll see you on the other side,” you hummed, gently patting the top of his head before turning to leave the room.

You pulled open the heavy metal door and let it close behind you as you strode back to the lounge with the phone in your hand still playing music. You wondered how long it would take for the soul to embed, for you to finally meet Asriel as his true self. You felt excited, you felt relieved. Stepping back into the lounge you glanced at the couches but you didn't want to keep sitting, instead you watched the tiled floor beneath your feet and lightly stepped tile to tile as you let your thoughts wander.

Would the end of this leave Gaster here by himself? Would he leave..? You doubted it. You frowned as the memory of all those bottles of scotch in his room were brought to the forefront of your mind, he had even tasted of it so heavily. That wasn't a way to live. Though, at the same time, you couldn't see him living on the surface either. He was not only a large monster but a very intimidating one, he wouldn't care to adapt or behave in a human society. The mere thought of having him in your apartment made you chuckle, he'd just dwarf everything you owned.. and would probably kill the neighbors.

You sighed as you hopped every other tile, standing on your tip toes. You couldn't get Sans to get along with Gaster, though perhaps Papyrus could.. You hummed as you pattered around the room, hearing a soft ticking ring into the room lightly. You shook it off as just the pipes, but as you stepped closer to the elevator the noise became louder. Blinking you swung your head around, were there rats in the ceiling..? Curiously you raised your phone and shut off your music player, freezing in place as you strained to listen.

Your breath caught in your throat as you heard something fluctuate, like a.. voice? You twisted your face up to the ceiling as you tried to locate where it was coming from and as time ticked on it became louder. Your eyes drew over to the elevator and stepped carefully towards it, dropping the phone off on the counter as you passed. The warbling sound continued, it sounded strained as you listened.

“god damnit kid, this is sketchy as fuck,” Sans' muffled voice trembled behind the heavy metal doors.

Gasping you shot forward, pelting over to the doors and set your hands on it while pressing your voice through the metal, “Sans? Sans is that you?”

There was a pause before there was a rapping knock on the metal, you jumped back and breathed out a giddy grin as you quickly knocked back.

“..hey, sun? that you in there..?” he panted, it sounded as if he was fidgeting with something.

“Y-yeah! Sans what are you doing here?” you panted, trying to brace against one of the metal doors and pushed but it wasn't budging.

“frisk had a dream and- fuck it, just stand back-” he barked, you quickly stumbled back away from the elevator as a bright blue bone punctured between the doors. You caught a sight of a blue light illuminating the elevator shaft between the widening space of the metal doors that groaned in protest to being opened. A dream..? You felt a jolt through your spine, the dream had been real. You had no idea how but you couldn't think as the bone creaked with effort, prying the doors far enough a part so that you could see Sans gripping to the rusted cable wires in the shaft with one hand while the other directed the bone, Frisk had their arms around his sweaty neck and peered over his shoulder at you with a brilliant smile.


	27. Old Wounds Can Still Fester

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Frisk had finally found you.  
> Oh no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT NOTICE: This chapter, I feel, is really bothering some of you so I reworded a few instances and omitted certain dialogue.  
> Sans was being a bit too much of a dick with trigger words so I removed them.   
> Reader dialogue is also tweaked ever so slightly. 
> 
> I know my writing can be rather harsh but to avoid further upset I decided it's best to go with this version, thanks.

With a heave the skeleton jumped the gap and stumbled into the room, Frisk falling from his shoulders and barely caught themselves from the landing. You stood with your heart in your throat as the skeleton slowly pulled himself upward, sweat glistened against his skull as his white pupils landed on you. He looked completely exhausted, his chest heaving with his hard breaths and as you stood there you couldn't help but throw your thoughts to the wind. His grin grew exponentially as you rushed forward and swung your arms around him in a tight embrace. You gave out a laugh as his strong hands gripped at your back and pulled you against his hardened ribs. He stunk with body odor and ketchup but you didn't care, clinging to him a heavy shudder ran through your back as tears pricked your eyes.

You felt Frisk hug your waist as the skeleton held onto you, his voice desperate as he murmured against your hair, “i didn't think the kid was telling the truth about the core having a basement.. god damn.”

That's right.. Frisk had led him here, exactly what you did not want. Oh no, you had to pull yourself together quickly and get a handle on the situation before anyone jumped to conclusions.

“Hey, I'm really happy to see you right now too but I have to tell you something-”

Frisk let go of you as you removed your arms from around the skeleton but he held you firmly, nuzzling the side of your face as he drew in a deep breath from your neck to which he froze at. His bony fingertips dug painfully into your flesh as a tremor of his bass like magic tickled the air, his voice was low and menacing as he pulled his face away to stare at your neck, “ _what the.._ ”

You tried to step back but he grabbed at your shoulders and held you still, his eye sockets narrowed into a deep scowl as his eyes locked onto small little triangles peaking out from the sweater and the curtain of your hair. You tried to pull the fabric up to cover your neck but he smacked your hand away with his own as he tore his digits into the shirt and pulled it clear down your shoulder to fully expose the black bite marks. You winced as the markings pulsed deeply into your flesh, Sans' eyes slowly widening in utter horror as his hands began to shake.

Frisk covered their mouth and took a step back as you two stood there in silence, your expression grew pained as you sputtered, “Sans.. Sans please try to calm down..”

“you want me.. to _calm down_..?” he murmured, his solid grin beginning to divot and sharpen with his sockets pure black.

“Yes, if you lose it right now it'll be the end of everything-” you begged but he cut you off.

“this.. is.. _**the end**_ ,” he snarled, his right eye flashing a violent blue light with a spinning yellow pulsation at the center.

You could feel the air tremble and build with his magic, it shook you to the bone but was nothing like the show Gaster displayed on Robert the other night. You wouldn't let Sans' lose control, you wouldn't let him destroy any remaining fragment that could be salvageable between these monsters. With a determined snarl you grabbed onto his shoulders, projecting your voice as you stared into his eyes.

“He's not what you think he is,” you could feel the skeleton shaking before his body abruptly stopped, the flashing in his eye growing bolder as his fangs glistened against the strobing light.

“.. you fucked him didn't you?” Sans stated, his expression was beyond fury yet his voice remained low almost at a murmur.

Your breath left your lungs, the grip on his jacket loosening as your heart beat in harder tandem. You shook your head and locked your eyes to his again. You couldn't let him control the topic, “Sans, if you blow up in here Asriel isn't going to make it, okay? I need you to chill out-”

“what are you talking about?” his fingers dug deeper into your flesh, you whimpered under the pressure but at least you had his attention.

“Flowey's soul, we got Flowey's soul back! But we just need time for it to set, if you would please just relax-”

“ _..we?_ ” he stretched, his eyes twitching as he stared at the mark upon your skin.

Sighing deeply you released him and smacked away his hands so you could pull the shirt back up to cover your exposed skin as you went on, “G.. I mean Gaster-,” Sans flinched, “managed to use Robert's soul to make Flowey a new one. He is going to finally be normal again, there wont be any need to banish him-”

“like I could give a fuck about that prick,” he spat.

“Well I do, and so does Frisk!” you seethed, this was not going well but you hadn't expected it to. You saw Frisk step back from you two as the tension built in the air, folding their arms as they watched. You sighed, “he's just a kid, Sans.”

“he's a fucking sociopath just like _him_ ,” he growled, lifting a hand to point at your neck and demanded, “ _what happened?_ ”

Swallowing you clutched the edge of the fabric and tucked it further up against your neck, trying to break his gaze from the mark and to your face. Quickly you pushed out your wounded hand, showing him the black scar across the palm to which his eyes widened at, “They're scars, okay? He healed them and for some reason they turn black like this, Robert tried to stab me.”

Sans' sockets went pitch black as he looked at your palm, the mark was deep and quite large. He carefully lifted a hand and took yours in his while running a bony finger atop the slash, “.. he had another knife on him?”

You sighed, biting at your bottom lip as you saw guilt flush across the skeleton's face, “It was a pocket knife hidden in his jeans.. Gaster didn't see it either.. well, until he.. you know.”

Sans held his finger against the mark, glancing back up into your eyes as he snarled, “what happened to that fucker?”

You shuddered instantly, flashes of still frames flooding your mind. Blood, bits of red sinew cascading in the air in thick ribbons that courted the sky as glass rained down through them. Shivering you averted your eyes, murmuring, “He's dead..”

“..so, what are those marks?” he let go of your hand and pointed back to your neck, you looked back up as Frisk craned their head to try to see.

“Scars,” you replied flatly, you weren't going to tell Sans what had happened.. you had to change the subject.

“Listen, I'm fine-”

“like hell you are..” he flicked his eyes up and down your form as his hand dropped.

“Seriously.. I'm fine,” sighing you tentatively locked gazes with Sans, your heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest, “I tried to tell Frisk that I'm okay.. you shouldn't have come here-”

“are you serious right now?” he wheezed, throwing his arms out as he painfully chuckled, “this is the thanks we get for rescuing you?”

“I didn't need to be rescued!” your fingertips dug into the stretched fabric around your shoulder, “I'm so sorry for running off behind your back, for putting Frisk in danger.. for not coming home sooner..”

“..what are you talking about?” he sighed desperately, feeling like a broken record.

“I could have gone home sooner.. But-”

“but _what?_ ”

“I couldn't leave without Flowey,” you held fast, standing up straight as you looked to Sans expecting to find him furious but he was so crestfallen it made your heart hurt.

“.. you chose to not come back to me?” he murmured.

“Sans.. Sans, no it's not like that-” you tentatively raised a hand, feeling tears well in your eyes.

“no.. no. i see what's going on here now,” he took a step back from you, shaking his head as his teeth began to divot and form sharp canines, his sockets still black, “i knew you were a kinky bitch but this is really fucked up to have a daddy complex.”

Frisk gasped loudly, stepping in front of you and began to sign harshly at Sans. His words struck your very soul, lightly trembling as he waved his hand as Frisk to cut them off, “i know what those marks are, i didn't get those new threads at first but I now recognize that shirt.”

“Sans please-!” you tried, stepping forward as Frisk was flinging their hands as they signed. You picked up bits and pieces in your mind, _'don't jump to conclusions- we don't know what happened-'_

“oh, I know what happened kid, you wanna know?” he let out a low laugh, his jaws parting in a gooey mess before solidifying, “he fucking forced himself on her, and she _liked_ it. you're a freak, lady.”

“No, Sans! Whatever happened, _if_ it happened, is _my_ business not yours. But I didn't ask to get bit, I didn't ask for _any of this!_ ” you snarled, the tears spilling from your eyes as you two locked your gazes, “I don't entirely enjoy being here.. I missed you guys, I missed _you_ , Sans. But I just could not abandon Flowey, he's family too.”

Frisk sharply nodded before you, they stood with a wide stance as if protecting you while Sans just shook his head, “damn lady, we need to get you out of here-” he took a strong step towards you, his eye lighting a brilliant blue once more.

You swallowed heavily, taking a step back as he strode up to you. He was completely ignoring Frisk as he prowled towards you like a lion would stare at a piece of meat, “you're coming back with us, we're going to remove that mark-”

“Sans.. knock it off-!” you flinched and took another step back as he gained on you.

“-and i'm going to kill him.”

“No, Sans-!” you gasped as he lurched forward, smacking Frisk out of the way as he suddenly stood in front of you. His gaze furious.

“he _marked_ you, he needs to die-!” he shot his hands out for you but you quickly jumped back so he only grabbed the air, his eye flashing with blue light as he kicked against the floor and propelled himself forward but Frisk ran into him from the side and sent them both tumbling to the ground.

“god damnit, frisk- what are you-!?” he snarled as they tumbled across the tile, it was a short battle as he just used the momentum to roll back up to his feet with the child tucked under his right arm. Frisk kicked and tried to bite at him but Sans' gave no indication that he cared. You wasted the distraction, too unsure, too afraid to run or think of a plan to get him to settle down. This was escalating far too fast, you didn't know how to handle Sans when he crossed this line.

You took a few steps back, another set of tears rolling down your cheeks as he started to step for you again, his voice deep and tremoring, “just hold still, you'll be home.. you'll never have to worry about him again.”

“I'm not afraid of him!” you cried, that made him pause as you went on, “He isn't normal, he isn't very nice, but he's his own monster just like you are. You can't decide who should live or die-”

Your words hitched as he began to stride over to you, he was radiating a deep pressure across the room and his feral snarling was beginning to scare you, you tried to reason with him, “you can't pass such a permanent judgment on anyone!”

“i've done it plenty-” he sneered, launching himself forward towards you at an incredibly speed. You gasped, pulling your arms up to shield yourself as a hard pull on your soul left you breathless. Just before Sans could grab onto you a large, towering figure loomed at your back and backhanded the skeleton with such force it knocked him clear back and sent him to the floor. Your eyes went wide as you glanced over the top of your forearms from the loud cracking bouncing off the walls, watching Sans turn in the air to land on his back with Frisk clutched to his chest. He let out a choking gasp as he landed, skidding to a halt. He began coughing heavily, clearly dazed as Frisk groaned and pushed up and away from his chest.

You shuddered, your body trembling as a familiar scent settled over you. Blinking and glancing to the sides you realized the edges of the scientist's coat enveloped your small form as he hovered above you protectively. Gaster's arm dropped loosely from the air in front of you as his hand nestled into his coat pocket while a summoned pair of hands appeared before you, twitching and signing as his deep voice echoed through the room.

“You know nothing of death-,” you could feel the hard vibrations echoing in the mans chest just behind your head, “-as you couldn't even properly deliver it to me.”

With a grunt Sans shakily pulled himself forward from the floor, his eyes locking onto Gaster as Frisk tried to hold onto his arm, desperate to keep him still but he shoved the child away to pull himself onto his feet. Frisk stumbled a few feet and huffed as they managed to catch themselves, stomping their foot against the tile in frustration as Sans bared his glistening fangs.

“i wont make that mistake again,” Sans snarled, his eye flaring brilliantly while Gaster remained relatively resolute. The skeletal hands kept you pressed back into him as they fidgeted and signed right in front of you, he spoke up once more.

“I have a reservation of doubt at four o'clock, shall I move that ahead to now?” he snorted.

Your heart skipped a beat as you craned your head to look up at Gaster, he had his eyes glued onto Sans even as you spoke up through the tight pain in your chest, “Don't you start too.”

He gave a soft hum as his eyes bounced down to lock onto yours then shifted over to Frisk who was signing at him. You tilted your head back down to watch Frisk, lowering your arms as you realized eerily that you could understand them as they signed, _'he's not going to stop, it's too late'_.

Gaster watched the child for a moment before looking back up to Sans who had his stance wide, fingers twitching in the air literally itching for a fight as the skeleton spat, “why didn't you just stay dead?”

The summoned hands jerkily began to sign again as his voice washed down over you, “Well, perhaps if you would have killed me properly this wouldn't have happened. But clearly that was too difficult for you to complete as well.”

Sans let out a deep snarl as he threw out his hand, Frisk being flung out of the way and to the kitchen before his hand swept back in the other direction and snagged your soul in attempt to pull you out of the way. You cried out as you felt your soul almost ripping apart before Sans' magic shattered off of it, that black blob throbbing against the little yellow heart within you. Gaster gave off a growl above your harsh panting as you clutched at your chest, ribs aching. The room trembled as he placed his clawed hand on your shoulder and swept you behind him before setting his hands behind his back. You stepped back as you saw the man summon a dozen more hands around his body, hanging in the air at odd angles. They all twitched and shook violently as he spoke.

“You should leave,” he commanded, the air quivered as you looked over to Frisk who was standing by the counter not sure what to do in this quickly heating up situation. You couldn't see what was happening around Gaster but heard Sans clearly as he barked.

“i'm not leaving without her!” the room was drowning in a static pressure, sparking wildly in the air around the two but the lights in the ceiling held fast and didn't waver. You gasped as Gaster's summoned hands began darting through the air, smacking away an onslaught of bright white attacks with air splitting cracks that also sent off flashes of light around him. The bones that survived the impacts would simply be deflected across the room but most shattered and fell to dust, swirling around his form as he stood steadfast before you. Sans was seriously attacking, already?! Your fingertips dug into your palms in frustration, you couldn't see anything that was happening from this position.

The hands drifted back into place as Gaster's voice pressed with irritation, “What makes you think she wants to leave?”

“you've fucking brainwashed her you filthy parasite!” you swallowed heavily at hearing Sans. You carefully stepped out and away from the two so you could see Sans once more passed Gaster's side. You didn't feel safe being so close to such attacks being thrown literally at you but you had no choice but to sit still for now. This was getting bad but you couldn't control Sans, you couldn't talk any sense into him either. You'd need a plan.

“I prefer.. Lich,” Gaster smirked with the tilt of his head.

“how the fuck are you a lich? they only exist in rumors you egotistical fuck,” Sans spat.

Ever so slowly he raised his right hand, his smirk deepening as he made a quick hand sign and with a pulse of light from his eyes Sans froze. Sweat dripping down his skull as his body trembled, he let out a quivering snarl as his body began to shake harder. What was he doing..? The skeleton rattled, including his jaw as if he was trying to speak but couldn't. A lich.. a lich can control the undead. You gasped, taking a step forward as you realized what was happening.

“Let him go, G!” the man flicked his eyes over his shoulder to you, his fingers lightly trembling along with the skeleton who struggled to stay calm while magic grasped to his body, “You don't have to do this..” you pleaded, murmuring the words.

He kept eye contact with you as Sans let out a gasp, struggling for air as the light in his eye fizzled out in a burst of blue sparks that wafted back down to the floor. You jerked your attention to the explosion and felt the tears continue down your face while you looked back at Gaster, tentatively taking a step forward, “ _Please_ don't do this..!”

The scientist held your gaze for a few more moments, your soul aching and as you were about to break forward he waved his hand nonchalantly. Sans fell forward onto the floor, barely catching himself as he shook and panted with his sockets black voids, “what.. what did you do to me..?” he strained, his fingertips digging into the floor as frustration gnawed at his figurative guts.

Sans tilted his head up to watch as Gaster signed, using his real hands as he spoke fluidly, “A lich is a monster that commands other undead creatures, correct? You are no match for me, Sans. Take your leave of this place and do not come back.”

“heh heh.. liches have a phylactery to stay alive-,” he spat on the floor before pulling himself up and Gaster genuinely began to laugh, the feeling of his magic throbbed against the walls as Sans flinched. You were used to this monster but Frisk was unnerved as they fidgeted with their sweater.

“What do you think you and Papyrus are?” Gaster mused.

“you're lying!” Sans swept his arm to the side, trying to gather his magic back after it all had been displaced.

“It doesn't matter to me if you believe it or not, Sans,” the man placed his arm back behind his back, the summoned hands twitching around him as they signed the rest of his words.

“But it seems as if you have an issue with me, unfinished business.. I feel a tinge of jealousy-” Sans flinched quite heavily, his eye sockets twitching as Gaster drawled on, “humans are.. _quite soft_ aren't they?”

“shut your god damn mouth!” Sans' twitched his fingers with urgency, his blue magic sputtering and trickling back into his left eye. An embarrassed flush rose into your cheeks, biting at the inside of your cheek roughly as you knew what Gaster was doing.. this was his plan to use up all of Sans' magic as there was no way Sans would quit otherwise. You didn't like this plan, you didn't like knowing Frisk was listening to this and you glanced over to the child. They were too focused on Sans to notice you.

Gaster's smile drew deeper, an odd squirming nuzzled into your soul as you watched the tension come to a head, “Corpses like you and I enjoy the feeling of.. _writhing_ , though-” he paused thoughtfully, giving Sans some time to get a grip on his magic the more and more angry he became. As you watched him, seeing his face contort and snarl, it made your heart hurt..

“They give something maggots can't.. It's quite interesting, Sans.. I have yet to see a creature tremble with such blissful agony-”

The ground began to rumble ever so slightly as Sans' eye flashed a brilliant blue once more, a pulsating yellow core flickering within it as he let out a vicious yell and threw his hand forward towards the man. Blue and white bones pulled themselves from the very floor in grating arches on either sides of the skeleton and shot straight for Gaster in a merciless wave. The scientist lightly chuckled before his summoned hands burst forth in front of him, deflecting and shattering the attacks with great sparks of light that drowned the room. Frisk had no choice but to duck down behind the counter as bits and pieces littered the room in brilliant glistening shards.

Your eyes widened at the sheer violent intent Sans was using to attack, his waves were large and some even misfired straight past Gaster and hurtled towards you. With a yip you jumped to the side to dodge the misfired attacks but they were fast and as they blew by you it caused the baggy shirt to get pulled by the breeze they shed. Stumbling towards the kitchen you glanced up just in time to see a few long bones tumbling end over end towards the scientist from the ceiling, the summoned hand swiped it and effectively broke it in half but the pieces crashed back to the ground straight for you. A summoned hand materialized beside you and shoved you out of the way of the spinning, shattered end just as it crashed into the tile. Stumbling from the hard tremor it's landing caused you squeaked, spinning around and pounded your feet against the shaking floor as you burst out of the way and managed to slide behind the counter just as the other end of the shattered magical bone peppered the floor behind you.

You found yourself huddling with Frisk behind the counter, you urged the child over with open arms and with a hard tremor passing through the floor they jumped to you. You clutched to the child as the room gave a hard rumble with the echoing sounds of Sans' attacks missing or deflecting off of Gaster's numerous summoned hands. You clung to Frisk as they hid their face in your chest while you pressed your back into the wood. Your heart was pounding, your ears ringing and your soul pulsed brilliantly as it struggled to breach your chest but you held it in. You waited, tried to calm down and carefully leaned over to peak around the island to see what was going on. You were met with Sans desperately trying to land hits on the man but it was of no use, he was just much too fast.

The doctor moved in the blink of an eye, his coat shifting and whipping around his body the only indication that he had moved at all as a group of bones shot up through the tile in an attempt to impale the man. Sans had switched tactics now with you out of the line of fire they had the entire room to hash things out. With a series of snarls Sans threw his hand around, bones flying and twisting towards Gaster as the ones in the floor tried to predict where he would land. The doctor kept his hands planted behind his back, phasing in and out of the room as loud snapping rung out across the hard surfaces from the hands deflecting whatever came too close.

You froze as the fight lulled, Sans was barely standing. He was clearly exhausted when you first saw him and he was spending magic he barely had, the light in his eye flickered but he remained on his feet through sheer will. The scientist remained silent, watching the skeleton growl before Sans raised his hand abruptly. You gasped as a large canine skull was summoned forth above him, Gaster's mouth twitched as he watched another two phase into reality beside the first. The jaws of the skulls slowly parted as a deep white glow began to build within them, Sans was snarling with the effort to focus in on the man in front of him.

Gaster shifted, planting himself firmly to the floor and brought his right hand out behind his back to make a sharp hand sign. A deep, rolling shock wave pulsed across the room. It jarred you to the core, your teeth rattling as Frisk whimpered and Sans stumbled while clutching at his left eye. He let out a pained cry before throwing his right hand outward, the skulls let out a deafening roar as the three blasted white hot lasers across the room in a cross hatch motion. Your soul was jerked violently, sending you gasping for air as Gaster suddenly shot forward and twisted through the beams, rolling his shoulders to evade them but his summoned hands were caught in the blast. The doctor flew right up on top of the blinded Sans and with a sickening crack his knee crashed right into the skeletons rib cage.

Sans let out a gasping cough as the blow knocked him back across the room, sending him tumbling across the tile while Gaster lifted his hand beneath the skulls and dropped his foot loudly against the floor. The blasters above began to shake violently then turned on each other, biting and snarling as they tore each other to pieces. You watched in horror as the two ganged up on the middle one, ripping it's jaws apart and with a final cry of death it charged a blast of energy that leaked from the sides of it's jaws and punctured through the blaster's own skull. The other two blasters were peppered with bullet holes as the unstable energy built within the blaster suddenly exploded. With that final burst of light they were all sent to dust, scorch marks singing the ceiling. Sans struggled to pick himself up off the ground, shakily managing to stand and wiped a bead of red determination from his chin.

Gaster brought his hand down and began to sign harshly at Sans while his voice carried across the room, “Enough of this foolishness, trying to use my own creations against me..? What mockery.”

Sans snarled, panting laboredly as he held both hands at his sides. An array of bones lined up behind him in a fan-like shape as he spoke, “shut the fuck up.”

The skeleton wasted no time throwing his attacks forward, they flew in uneven, sweeping motions which pushed Gaster back as he took full control of his summoned hands. The doctor curled his sharp digits and swatted the attacks out of the way, the hands around his body interchanging and danced around him to protect their master. Through this whole scene you realized that Gaster wasn't really fighting back, he dodged and stood his ground against the barrage. Frisk crawled over your lap to peek their head around the counter as well, you kept a tight grip on them as you were prepared to haul them back to safety if you had to.

Sans had also noticed the doctor's unwillingness to fight back, “what..? so easy for you to destroy your other creations but not me?”

Gaster chuckled, a dark tension curling through the air as he continued to hunch over as if expecting another assault. He began to sign in quick, jerking movements, “You are my greatest creation, Sans.”

The skeleton let out a snarl as he swung his arms forward and sent another wave towards him, they spun end over end through the air while others swooped lower at his calves. You watched with wide eyes as Gaster kept his hands poised and ready before he ducked down to avoid the spinning long bones, shoving up off of the floor to allow the other attack to sail beneath his feet. The spinning bones quickly looped back around to which he ducked at as if he intimately knew this attack, they sailed straight back at Sans which he deflected by sending two smaller bones up at them. With a flash and a loud cracking noise the magic drifted back to the ground in shimmering particles.

This was too much, this was too hard to keep watching. You felt the tears spill down your face as you watched with Frisk, the plan was so .. cruel. The doctor took the opportunity to stride forward, seemingly gliding across the floor as Sans began to stumble backwards and grabbed at his chest painfully. Gaster was soon careening over the top of Sans, gazing down fondly at the monster as he slowly drew his hands out of his pockets and signed. Gaster made sure to make his hand movements painfully slow, watching his sons face as he spoke, “You are my greatest _sin._ ”

With a sneer Sans held out his hand and made a striking motion towards the doctor, a summoned bone crashing into the floor where he once was as the man dance around behind him. With a cry Sans spun and slashed out his arm, trying to make a hit on the doctor with materialized weapons but they would only embed into the tile with sharp cracking that echoed over the room. You pulled Frisk back as they continued their dance, Sans managing to push Gaster back and away from him with a swift spin that sent out a tight array of bones chasing the scientist away. Looking to the child you panted, beads of sweat slipping down your skin, “We have got to stop them, there has to be another way to get Sans to stop besides.. goading him to exhaustion!”

Frisk nodded sharply though you both flinched as a bone sailed over the counter and broke into pieces against the wall above the sink. The remnants rained down onto you as they dissipated. You gently edged to the side of the counter while Frisk took the other side, you both watched and waited for an opening. Gaster now stood a ways away from Sans, his back slightly hunched but his eyes were bright with the slightest hint of a smile over his jagged mouth. Sans stood, panting and heaving while glaring down the man. There was no way Sans could keep going but you knew he would anyways, it was now or never as you saw him slowly lift his hand and summon forth another fan of bones behind him. They swung out from the sides of the skeleton, crossing over each other to prevent Gaster from trying to run at him down the middle again.

Gaster leaned out of the way of the majority of the attacks, having to quickly side step or spin around more complicated patterns that only grew in intensity. The scientist summoned forth two pairs of hands to swat the close attacks out of the way with the backs of their hands. With each contact made the hands would crack and slightly begin to ooze but it didn't seem as if it effected Gaster at all. Sans was losing, you already knew that. Gaster was hardly using any of his magic in comparison to Sans and as time ticked on you could feel a pulling sensation within your chest, your soul gave a dull ache in your chest as your energy was shared with the scientist.

 

Sans faltered, growing tired with his onslaught and this was your chance. With a snarl you and Frisk flung yourselves out from opposite sides of the counter and towards the fray to which your powerful yellow soul burst through your chest and thrummed against a deep pull, refusing to sink back down. A few of Sans' deflected attacks spun end over end before burying into the ground on the opposite side of the counter, Frisk giving off a squeak as they were stopped dead in their tracks. It was too late for them to try to join you now, they gave a frustrated kick to the bone as you sped towards the last few bones hurdling towards Gaster. With a rapid stream of flashes from your soul a bullet would pierce through an incoming bone, dusting away the attacks just as they were about to collide with you. You felt the dust twirl and land upon your form as you slid to a stop in front of Gaster with your back to him, facing Sans you threw your arms out to the sides.

“That's enough!” you panted, tears spilling from your eyes as Gaster straightened up and peered down at you.

“get out the damn way,” Sans seethed, his body trembling with the effort to stay standing. His jaws hung open as he panted through them in harsh beatings.

“No! I refuse-,” You saw Frisk step forward from the counter in your peripheral vision, a smile placed upon their face as you broke and cried out, “I refuse to watch you two torment each other!”

A heavy, shaken sob pulled from your lungs as you hung your head and shook it wildly in the glow of your yellow soul, “I don't want to see anybody else get hurt! There has been enough fighting, you don't have to do this Sans. We can all just walk away from this-”

“don't you see what he's done to you?” he panted, swaying slightly through the sweat and exhaustion, “look at your soul, for fucks sake look at _yourself_ ,” he wheezed.

Slowly you pulled your face up to look at the soul before you, that black inky stain remained and while your soul was a lustrous golden yellow the entry points of the little black veins were tinted a deep orange color and even in some parts a crimson, sickly red. You already knew this, you already knew Gaster was using your soul to sustain himself but seeing it visibly shook you.

“what good has he done, huh?” Sans spat, beads of sweat dripping down his skull.

“He made you and Papyrus, didn't he?” you whimpered, keeping yourself firmly planted in front of Gaster.

Sans snarled as if you had slapped him, “don't go there..”

“Well it's true, and I don't want to step into your business but you two are so _impossible!_ I know for a fact you won't deal with it unless you have help,” you heard Gaster snort behind you, “You want proof that he isn't that bad? Well I'll prove it, just calm down and wait a minute-”

“heh heh.. _kid_ ,” he drawled, trying to not stumble, “he can't make up for the things he's done.”

Gaster remained quiet, watching the scene before him patiently as Frisk took a few steps forward before coming to a stop. They were unsure of how close they should get. You growled, clenching your teeth, “You can't change the past, Sans. You know that more than anyone! It's what we do with the present, how we act and how consistent we are in those actions that dictate who we are-”

“yeah? and what actions are those that supposedly make it okay that he tortured paps and i..? i wasn't born with this determination-” he grabbed at his chest and yanked at his jacket, growls weaving into his words, “i never asked to be born as a fucking weapon.”

A weapon..? You swallowed as Sans continued, “so when I couldn't break the barrier he decided, 'well fuck it', and made paps.”

He began to chuckle, shaking his head and muttered between panting, “paps-.. papyrus was too gentle. i couldn't sit and watch the same thing happen to my brother..”

Your eyes widened as Sans turned his gaze to you but then raised it, staring directly into Gaster's eyes, “i _wouldn't_ let it happen. so what is supposed to make up for all of that, for kidnapping and _murder?_ ”

Your soul thudded at that, the memories of the scientist finishing off Robert mixed with all of the information being thrown at you settled oddly in your gut. The sound of the doctors voice brought you back to the present as his summoned hands lifted around you and signed simply as he spoke.

“My sins are eternal. They can not be forgiven.”

The both of you flinched at hearing that, especially said so plainly but before Sans could reply he went on.

“I do not expect, nor want, you to forgive me.”

As you stood, listening, you became aware of how exhausted you were from the use of your soul in multiple ways and you could tell the skeleton in front of you was at his breaking point. Hopefully this would work, hopefully Sans would listen and stop.

The doctor continued, “I am what I am, Sans. I have lived through much and I do not care for this affair. But I do quite enjoy living, and I will continue to do so with or without your petty contempt for me-”

“petty..? you think getting away with this shit is _petty?_ ” Sans breathed, another wave of bones being called forth behind him. He was looking straight through you.

“Your jealousy, your _greed_ , is petty,” the man signed harshly, the marks on your skin beginning to itch as you stood your ground and eyed the attacks behind Sans. A dark thought crept into your mind, was he going to keep attacking despite you being in the way..? You tried to look into his eyes but nobody was home, the bright blue light of his left eye wavered and flashed with the struggle of his magic.

“i'm trying to protect her from the likes of you, she just needs to see what you really are-,” he snarled, lifting his hand shakily.

“Sans.. Don't do this..!” you tried to reach out your hands to him, trying to simmer him down but he cut you off.

“-which is a selfish _demon_ ,” with a flash of his eye he sent a wave straight for the both of you, the bones arching widely around you but there were so many of them you froze. You couldn't focus on any which one to try to fire at and before you could even think you yipped, throwing your arms up to cover your face as a towering figure jumped up against your back. A deep, gut wrenching snarl shook your bones and burdened the air with a terrifying pressure, causing the lights to flicker as Gaster used his summoned hands to deflect and block the onslaught. His lab coat mostly covered you as he stayed at your back but standing still was not so easy, you felt your soul get snapped back into your body with a hard jolt that shook your spine as he called for your energy to help him defend the both of you.

Sweat broke out across your skin, panting and keeping your face hidden against the flashes of light and ear splitting cracks that seemed to come from every which way around the both of you. Sans was attacking you, he was actually throwing his weapons at you just to try to prove his point. The form above you gave a jerking shudder as Gaster let out a deep grunt, his shoulders drooping closer down above you as your soul throbbed amidst the onslaught. This hurt more than seeing Sans angry, than seeing him hurt.. your soul heaved with an impact both emotional and physical, you couldn't help but cry out but your voice was drown out by the chaos. After what felt like an eternity the flashing light and cracking stopped. Slowly, panting with sweat dripping down across your skin you pulled your face up from your arms as you felt a headache coming on. You felt like you had just run a few miles with a hangover. You stood shakily as Gaster's lab coat draped over you, his arms were positioned protectively out around you with his digits twitching in the glimmering air.

You couldn't see Frisk but you heard them gently step forward from across the room, Sans' eyes were wide as he swayed and stared up at Gaster who remained still. You didn't know what was going on, the three of you stood still as Frisk finally came into view with their hands up to their mouth as they stared at Gaster. A hot liquid dripped down from above you and gently patted your shoulder before slipping down your delicate skin. Your eyes widened as you turned your gaze towards it and found dribbles of black ooze trailing across your flesh.

Gaster's voice was raspy as he panted out impatiently, “Are you done..?” he slowly raised his right hand as you looked up and gasped in horror as you saw the origin of the black liquid, it was slipping from his mouth in a single thin bead that clung to his jaw. He got hit, you didn't know how badly but judging from Frisk it wasn't good. It explained why you felt so sick, so sore all of the sudden.

You watched as the hand reached for something past his shoulder, pierced into his back. His fingers gripped to it firmly before he jerked his arm and with a sickening sound of tearing flesh he drew a long, sharpened bone from his back and slung his arm out to the side. A ribbon of black ooze spun through the air before pattering to the floor before the both of you as the scientist held the object like a club, your eyes trailed to the side to see the bone clenched in his hand. You felt nauseous. Black tar coated a good portion of the weapon, it clung greedily to the ivory as it gunked down onto the floor in long coagulated strings.

Gaster drew his free hand to his mouth, wiping away the trail of black blood before he began to sign with that hand, speaking slower to keep up with the translation. You couldn't tear your eyes away from the bone, watching the thick ooze as it connected the floor to the end of the bone, “Are you daft? Or are you that certain of your perception of me?”

With a toss of his arm he sent the bone spinning towards Sans lazily, you watched as it sailed through the air briefly and shuddered as it painted the air with black gooey ribbons. The bone then smacked and rolled across the ground, painting the tile in elegant trails of black ooze before it slowly spun to a halt right in front of Sans feet. Gaster continued, “She has _my_ mark, she is _my_ responsibility-”

Your vision went up from the bone and to Sans as he stood in shock, the magic in his eye was gone. Just empty sockets stared back at the two of you as his bones shook from exhaustion, sweat building up on his jacket as Frisk carefully stepped over to the bone and looked down at it with a tinge of sadness.

“You may run from your duties, but I never have,” the man signed with both hands now, speaking fluidly even though he was hurt, “Your duties to help free all monsters, to train your brother, to prepare for the war we escaped.. But no. The only thing I have seen you accomplish is nihilism, wasting your intelligence and gifts. You even became passive during the resets, unwilling to stay strong enough to help your brother as he was not imbued with the same realistic views as you were.”

Finally, _finally_ , Sans was listening. With a heavy sigh you dropped your arms and folded them in front of your chest as you stood, sore and aching. Gaster's hot blood slipped down your chest, it was thick and smelt of grease but you were too shaken to try to wipe it off.

“I can not blame you for your lack of motivation, you were born with low Hope. A miscalculation on my part.. Sans, no one asks to be alive. We are given life, it is up to us with what we do with it.”

The skeleton let out a baseless laugh, it was sharp and angry, “and this is what you decide to do with yours..?”

“Like you, I was not given a choice when I was born,” he snapped, keeping his tone level, “I fought in the war, killed many without hesitation, created devastating weapons of destruction out of necessity for our people. I did what I did out of duty. The things I passed onto you and Papyrus would mean you would survive, I realized you are your own monsters and not weapons shortly after you woke.”

Sans stood still, shifting his shoulders back as he replied in a murmur, “.. you were always about 'duty', about your 'job'. i had hoped rigging the machine would make you stop, but it just ripped open the void and pulled you into it.” your eyes widened as he continued with his confession, “the timeline reset without you in it, i took care of paps by myself and it was as if you had never even existed. i tried to undo what happened, i felt so guilty.. I didn't mean to kill you..”

Gaster remained motionless, unamused as Sans went on, “i remember those nightmares.. but i became more and more pissed at you for them, i didn't want to try helping that thing you had gotten turned into. I was okay with knowing you couldn't come back and put papyrus through those determination injections. you favored the _experiment_ above all else, above _us_. which is why i know-” he pointed a finger straight at you, you flinched, “-that this.. this is not okay.. it's another one of your sick experiments.”

“Yet your tactic to try to drive me away so you could snatch her was not a ' _sick experiment?'_ ” Gaster breathed, you swallowed dryly as that digested within you. Sans was so desperate to get you out of here he risked you getting caught in the fire. You couldn't hold back the whimper of realization as you tightened your arms around your chest, that bone could have hit _you_. You wouldn't have survived being impaled by something so terrifyingly large, the scientist's thick skin was an added advantage that a squishy human did not possess.

Sans could only try to control his breathing, his silence only proved the scientist's point. Frisk looked over to the both of you while standing next to Sans, you both shared the same expression as Gaster continued to berate Sans, “You could have chosen to listen to her, yet you insisted with your own belief without taking her opinion into accord. You are headstrong, brilliant yet uncultured.”

The large monster took a step out from around you to step forward towards Sans, as he did so you looked up at his back and drew your hand up over your mouth to muffle a sharp inhale. A deep, gushing hole in his shoulder oozed a trail of thick tar down the black coat and dripped heavily on the tile yet he strode as if he wasn't hindered. Sans fanged grin turned to a heavy frown as he took a shaky step back, no magic left within him to defend himself.

“You have much to learn, Sans. But you will not continue to do so here,” with a quick blur of black Gaster was upon Sans and flung his hand forward to clutch to the skeleton's face. Sans let out a gasping whine as he clawed at the arm and hand as Gaster's fingers invaded his eye sockets, the grip was tight and merciless. Angry.

Frisk tried to grab at Gaster but he shoved them away and to the ground with a hard jerking of his free hand, his voice echoing through the room as you ran over to the child, “You will not come back-”

Sans choked out a cry as his bones creaked beneath the grip, you slid to a stop as you knelt down to Frisk on the floor and could only watch in horror as Sans' body was trembling with jolts of livid shudders, his bones rattling beneath his jacket during the struggle as Gaster continued, “-and you will not try my patience any farther.”

You threw your hand out towards Gaster, about to beg him to stop but they were gone within an instant. Panting and in shock you stared at where they had been standing mere moments ago, Frisk was equally as stunned as you both sat in unbridled silence for what felt like ages before turning towards each other. The child looked like they were about to cry, with a sigh you pulled them to your chest and embraced them tenderly as their small form shook. You fell back onto your ass as you pulled the child into your lap and cradled them as they worked through their shivers, your eyelids drooped as you stared at the floor in front of you. The ivory weapon had mostly dissolved but anything coated in the black ooze was preserved, the sharp edge pointing straight at you as the black tar stuck to the floor.

As you stared at it, holding Frisk and thinking for a solid few minutes about Sans' confession.. about what really had happened to the make-shift family, you felt a heaviness seep into your body. Your eyes narrowed slightly at the bone before kicking it across the floor away from you, it spun weakly and clattered over the tiles before coming to a stop and pointed towards the open lounge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling a few of you lovely readers are going to sit here and scream, "NOOOOOO WHAT WAS THAT?!"  
> But I feel it's important to remember the Sans in this story is triggered by his past, by Gaster himself. We knew it wasn't going to be pretty, and it wasn't.  
> I know this plot is shifting in a very unexpected way but I'm just goin' with my gut, the next part will be out within the next day or two as it's still being revised and added onto. <3


	28. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster sends Sans back from whence he came as the situation settled heavily on your shoulders.   
> You'd have to think of a new plan, and it would have to be fool proof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to split this last chapter into two parts. This segment is done so I'm posting it now while I still edit the next part.   
> Thank you guys for reading! We are, unfortunately, coming to the finale and while we are still a few chapters away from the ultimate end of this particular fic it's an odd feeling to be wrapping up these loose ends.

Within mere seconds the scientist found himself standing in the middle of a small room, slowly rolling his eyes over the furniture as Sans scrambled and struggled against his fingers. The couch had a few monsters on it, he recognized the queen as she stared at him with sheer horror. The woman whom abandoned her husband, whom abandoned her people. He saw a shivering yellow lizard monster beside her, Alphys.. his replacement. He didn't think he could become more disgusted until he landed his eyes on a small human at the end of the couch, she was the most terrified.

Sans clawed at his arm and jerked wildly in his grip but he was only rewarded by the scientist's hands digging deeper within his skull, the skeleton gave out a gasping, terrified choke. An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.. his shoulder did burn terribly.

“Hey, let him go! You took Sun didn't you?! Where is she?! Where's Frisk!?” his attention was turned to an obnoxious slathering of a fish monster, he recognized her as being one of the generals daughters. He barely remembered the name, Undyne. The woman's mother had fought on the battle field but she never made it underground. He was reminded of the old war veteran as she pointed an energized spear directly at him but that hardly effected him, instead his eyes drifted to the skeleton beside her in a dark hoodie with jeans.

“Papyrus..” he spoke, the entire room flinched as Sans suddenly froze.

“don't you.. even.. look.. at him,” Sans seethed, panting against his hand as his bony fingers tore at the scientist's wrist but he didn't mind.

“H-HELLO? I.. I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING STRANGE PERSON,” he stammered with a nervous smile.

Interesting. He had pulled himself back into the timeline, but it did not bring back their memories. Only Sans had retained it from the sheer amount of determination in his bones, a treatment Papyrus was spared as a child. Though with a temperament such as his the determination injections would have gone to waste, he was too soft for an actual battle.

“Stay back, Papyrus! This freak has got it's eyes on you and I don't like it!” Undyne sneered, she met his gaze with confidence. Amusing.

His admiration was short lived as Sans continued to struggle, with irritation weighing on the scientist he pulled at his skull while raising his arm. The skeleton was lifted off of the floor slowly, Undyne rushed towards them but the scientist held his free hand to the woman and she immediately froze at seeing the hole in his palm. Always a good tactic. Sans kicked and choked as he was hung in the air, desperately clinging to the mans arms like a cat rescued from the current. He waited, letting Sans tire himself as the scientist glanced over his shoulder at an empty chair. The king wasn't here.. pity.

The woman then lunged for him. Perfect. With swift movement he threw his arm and released Sans, he crashed into Undyne which sent them both reeling as Gaster rushed forward towards Papyrus. The other two crashed over a small table into a heap on the floor. Papyrus tentatively stepped back, sweat building on his skull, “THAT ISN'T THE BEST WAY TO TREAT OLD FRIENDS, AS SANS MENTIONED BEFORE HE LEFT WITH THE SMALL HUMAN-”

The skeleton flinched as Gaster brought his hand forward towards his face, after all of these years he kept the same personality. The scientist knew Papyrus wasn't an imbecile, he was just overflowing with mercy. He believed in the good in everyone, a dangerous trait. The man's clawed fingertips scraped across the young man's jaw, making him shudder and step back to which he didn't bother to follow. He had a stronger nerve than the prince at least.

“W-WOWIE. UH, THAT'S AT LEAST STEP SEVENTY-EIGHT IN THE DATING GUIDE BOOK.”

There was a tingle of magic in the air, the man quickly stepped back as a blue spear embedded itself in the wall between him and Papyrus. Gently he turned to see Undyne still sitting on the floor with her arm thrown out towards him, she looked shocked by how quickly he had reacted. Sans was a useless pile of bones on the floor next to her, face down in the carpet as he struggled to breathe. Another faint tinge of magic brushed the doctor's soul, he abruptly twisted and with a flutter of his coat he side stepped a burst of fire. His eyes narrowed on the queen as she stood, tears in her eyes.

“What are you? Where are my children?!”

Hmn, in the past she had understood hands. He would test a new theory as he brought his hands before him slowly and began to sign while speaking, “With me.”

She blinked blankly at him, the yellow monster and human on the couch cringed at his vocal inflections. Pity, she did not understand him. There were numerous hand languages but he didn't feel like indulging her with using Frisk's method. He had a point to make here after all. He held his right hand out, making a sharp sign as his eyes flashed and Sans let out a hard gasp. Sans' voice filled the room with a monotonous drawl, “with me..”

“What the fuck are you doing to him!?” Undyne shrieked from behind the man, he took a slight step back so he could glance across everyone present without spinning around constantly. Papyrus was leaning down over his brother, carefully rolling and lifting him in his arms as he knelt on the floor. Sans' eye sockets were black yet his bones were quivering. He may have low Hope, but his soul was still incredibly strong. However, it did no good against a magical influence such as the scientist's.

Out of habit he spoke and signed, Sans' voice translating through the cutting warbles of his inflections, “i have merely returned him, he could have left peacefully but chose to be difficult-”

The room gasped, the fish woman seething as he continued, “i have taken his magic to prevent further interruptions-”

Interestingly the queen let slip a few tears down her pristine fur, the trauma of losing her child had made her soft, “-the woman, Frisk and Asriel-” Toriel gasped as if she had been gut punched, “-are in my care.”

The scientist turned to look at Alphys as Toriel was overcome with shock. The yellow lizard recoiled against the arm of the couch as his eyes stared into hers, Sans' voice melting through the air oddly as he went on, “i have made him a soul to return him to his original state, then they shall be returned.”

The queen was frozen in place, as if she was trying to process what she was hearing. Undyne simply gave a snarl, her face turning to a scowl but the doctor turned his gaze to Papyrus and watched as he was transfixed on his trembling elder brother. Odd, he wondered how such a gentle trait was passed onto him as the scientist felt that he himself had never been nurturing. Sans' voice filled the room, “if you follow me.. if you try to find me again..”

The scientist summoned an array of hands, filling the room with the floating, twitching apparitions quite well. A nice trick as the room was rather small, the intimidation worked on all except for the general's daughter as she slapped one away from her. She would have made an excellent warrior.

“..i will not show you mercy as i have tonight.”

The scientist snapped his fingers, Sans gave out a great wheeze as the remaining magic left within him oozed from his mouth down onto his jacket in a bright blue sludge. The skeleton coughed as his brother held him up further to support his battered body. The doctor's eyes met the queen's and with a smirk he let the darkness of the void wrap around him, vanishing from the room lightly smelling of butterscotch. Black drippings of his blood on the carpet were the only indication of his visit.

 

***

 

This lobby had seen some shit, you sighed. You had managed to get Frisk pulled together and sat them on the counter in the kitchen beside your phone which was coated in sparkly dust. You both had a glass of water and you were on your third, you chest hurt and so did your heart. That didn't go very well, you hadn't expected it to. You didn't want Sans to get hurt.. you didn't want anyone to get hurt. If he wasn't so damn stubborn.. sighing with irritation you finished off the glass and set it down on the counter while Frisk sipped their water thoughtfully.

“So.. that didn't go well..” you murmured, Frisk frowned and shook their head as they set the glass next to them and began to slowly sign but then hesitated.

You smiled a bit, “It's okay.. I can understand you, must be G's magic.”

Frisk nodded then started to sign, _'I thought you were in trouble..'_

“I know, Frisk. It's not your fault, you were just following your heart..”

The corner of their mouth pulled into their cheek as they went on, _'We thought maybe it was a trick so we wouldn't come looking for you, Sans dragged me out of the house so fast it was unbelievable.'_

You giggled a bit before it faded into a frown, “He really never stopped looking did he..?”

Frisk shook their head solemnly, it explained why Sans was so weak during the fight. He was running on empty, and even though he was exhausted he could still be so easily fired up. Not that you couldn't blame him.. Your hand gently went up to your neck as the bite marks began to tingle roughly at your skin, rubbing the marks didn't abate the sensation.

Frisk began to sign again, _'What happened to you?'_

“Oh..” you kept your hand pressed to your neck and you went through and recounted what happened in the room. How you woke up here and how he took Flowey. You skipped the part about your intimate moments with Gaster but did explain that he bit you to embed his magic, it allowed you to understand him and read hands. You left out the thought of how he also seemed to be able to read your mind or listen in on your conversations, that was pushing it a tad to say to a child. Even one as mature as Frisk. As you went on though, you had no choice but to gently explain what happened to Robert as that's what was needed to recreate a soul for Flowey.

They listened to you thoughtfully, gently swinging their legs as you spoke and once you wrapped up they nodded before picking their hands back up to sign, _'Where's Flowey?'_

“Oh, he's getting his soul put back.. but I'm not sure how long that will take-” you bit at your lip, did Gaster have to abandon Flowey in order to come out here and defend you? It made your stomach flip as Frisk began to sign again with a smile on their face.

_'I knew he could do it. Where is he? Can I see him?'_

Sighing softly you tried to push away the negative thought, “He's past the double doors at the end of the hall-”

Frisk jumped down from the counter and you had to hustle forward to grip their sweater, they turned to you with a curious scowl, “You can't go back there, not yet. Our souls could get affected by whatever is happening in there, it's not safe.”

The child looked disappointed as you let them go, “Hey, it'll be all right.. G will let us know what's going on.. when he gets back..”

Frisk nodded, glancing around the room and you followed suit. There were charred marks across the ceiling from the blasters, the tile cracked in most places with gaping holes in others and while they weren't large they could still be a trip hazard. Luckily those remained out and away from the lobby but seeing them still upset you. It wasn't supposed to be like this, it wasn't supposed to happen like this. The child turned back to face you, lifting their hands up to sign as you gently drew your gaze back to them.

_'He's kind of creepy..'_

You blinked, your brain was on Sans but you quickly understood Frisk had meant Gaster. You smiled at that, “Yeah.. A little bit. He's not that bad once you've been around him, he's mainly just .. stoic.”

They gave you a puzzled look, sheepishly you clarified, “To himself.. He doesn't show his feelings.”

They nodded slowly as you chewed at your cheek, he had been gone for awhile and you knew he was clearly pissed off. The way his fingers were jammed inside of Sans' eye sockets.. you shuddered.

_'He wont hurt anyone.. will he?'_

You blinked at Frisk as they held their hands in the air on the last sign they made, you didn't know how to answer that question. The child's expression became more strained the longer you took but as you opened your mouth a large, black figure towered behind Frisk. You jerked your head up as Frisk jumped and spun around, backing up against your legs as Gaster stood hunched and clearly irritated. His mouth was drawn into a tight line, his eye sockets narrowed while the black oozing of his blood continued to trail across his shoulder. Your eyes wandered to it as he brought his hand up and gripped onto your chin tightly, you winced as he forcefully turned your face side to side while tilting his head.

“G-gaster..” you huffed, pulling your head away from his hand but he kept a firm grip on you as he looked you over, “I'm _fine._ ”

You could feel Frisk pressing into your legs to try to lean back away from the man as he invaded your personal space, he was soon finished and released you rather roughly before turning and strode to the hallway. You brought a hand up and rubbed at your jaw lightly as you watched him go, the large hole in his shoulder glistening before he disappeared down the corridor. As he left you heard Frisk sigh and step away from you to only turn and look up towards you with a scowl.

“He's just hurting.. Relax there, Warden,” you smiled weakly as you dropped your hand and looked to the counter to find you phone covered in a light amount of dusty debris. You leaned over, grabbing it and knelt down in front of Frisk while holding it out to them.

“I should go make sure he is okay.. Stay here, play with my phone until I get back-”

The child took the phone from your hands, turning it around to unlock the display as you patted their head gingerly, “-and remember to not go in the double doors, okay? No matter what.”

The child absentmindedly nodded as they tabbed out of your music player, you stood and took in a deep breath before exhaling and stepped forward across the lobby and towards the hallway. It was eerily silent after the chaos you had just endured. You padded barefoot to the end of the hall, walking was such a pain in the ass. You felt like passing out, or having a good drink but you couldn't let that wound fester or go unchecked. He could summon hands but he couldn't possibly see what he was doing. Ignoring the double doors entirely you opened the last door to the right and stepped inside to walk down the short hall towards the bedroom door which was wide open.

Nervousness chewed at your gut as you slowed your steps, listening but heard nothing. You rallied yourself in your head, reaching for courage as you stepped into the doorway and gently knocked on the door frame, “Hey.. you all right..?”

Gaster stood with his back to you, his coat discarded over the top of his desk as he finished taking a shot of scotch from the bottle. He remained silent as your eyes transfixed on his stained turtleneck, the black tar had oozed clear through it but his open wound is what really made you queasy. It was as if his puncture was.. gurgling, twisting in on itself while a trail of blood would gush over the top to trail down his back. The light scent of grease filled your nose as you took a gentle step into the room.

“G..?” you insisted softly, he just took another drink and set the bottle down on the desk firmly.

“How did they get in?” he murmured, his voice cold.

“Honestly..? I'm not sure..” you weren't lying, you had no idea how they managed to deduce where you were. It was an equal surprise to you. You swallowed dryly as you took another step towards him, the smell only becoming stronger.

“We can talk about it while I help you dress that.. it's really.. _really_ deep..”

He waved a hand nonchalantly off to the side. You just scrunched your brow in confusion.

“What do you mean don't worry about it? You're bleeding.. _everywhere,_ ” you breathed deeply.

With irritation jerking his motions he turned around to face you, his chin raised and expression far removed. Your heart pulsed at his movement but you met his eyes firmly, keeping yourself planted to the ground. You two began a staring match, one that rivaled the first time you had met his gaze. The energy radiating from him was harsh and distant while you had just sheer willpower and eventually that strength pulled into your legs as you took a few more steps towards him to close the distance.

“Don't you glare at me, I honestly don't know how they figured out where this place was.. But it's done and over for now, what needs our attention is the gaping hole in your back-” his eyes narrowed further, your heart faltering yet your stare remained solid, “and either you sit down so I can help you or I stand on that desk so I can see it.”

You took one more strong step forward, noticing how deeply his chest was heaving yet you couldn't hear him breathing. He got hurt because of you, he could have just dodged but he chose to defend you fully. You were irritated at how territorial these monsters could get, nobody should have gotten hurt. Staring further into the scientist's eyes you mirrored him and lifted your chin to stand confidently in front of him as you went on, “You helped me.. now let me help you.”

He remained still. Sighing you took a light step forward, your turn to invade his personal space and gently set your hands on his chest. He didn't react to it but your soul quivered at the struggled wheezing that reverberated across your palms, you had no idea how he could hide this pain so effortlessly.

“G..?” your expression faltered, it felt as if bones were grinding against each other within his flesh. The sensation was terribly disturbing. You felt his chest give a deep sigh, you looked back up to his face but he was staring off at the far wall. You watched the bottom of his jaw move slowly with his words.

“You will not like what you see.”

“I already don't like what I'm seeing..” you murmured, looking back to his stained chest as he breathed with a slow, pained rhythm.

He let out a soft hum, tilting his head lightly side to side as he stretched his neck before bringing his hands to the front of his abdomen. You took a step back to give him space as his fingers curled around the fabric and lifted it up off of his body, being careful around his shoulder as the fabric seemed to stick to the open wound. Your eyes went wide, your skin cold as you looked at him. A lich was truly the only way to describe this monster. His body type was relatively athletic, muscle built up around his hips, arms and sides while deep, black scarred gashes rippled across his skin in varying degrees and thicknesses. The largest of them went from the base of his neck and down along his chest while numerous scratches and slicing peppered his sides, shoulders and arms. The contrast against his white skin was shocking and as he tossed the shirt off onto the table you realized that certain muscle structures were bone. His rib cage was oddly shaped, the bottom of it poked through his tattered flesh just as his sharp hip and collar bones jutted in tight angles.

You followed the largest scar from the top of his abdomen, clear up his strong chest and to his solid neck but your eyes flicked away and into his gaze. You understood where his pain tolerance originated from, you hadn't noticed your hands shaking until he huffed with mild irritation and sat down on the edge of the bed with his elbows resting on his knees. He glanced away from you as he summoned a pair of hands to grab his destroyed clothing and directed them out of the doorway as you finally snapped out of it and came up beside him. The angle of the wound was odd, as if it almost glanced off of him.. as if he pushed himself into it's trajectory.

You flinched as he turned and looked over to you, a scowl written on his features but you ignored it and with a sigh you jumped up onto the bed behind him to get a better look. He muttered something as you placed a hand over his spine and peered down at the wound, you found something writhing and _moving_ inside of his skin. Your gut twisted as you realized you were watching muscle fibers reattach themselves and as they squirmed around it would push more black ooze from it. You had to look away, trying to keep your breathing calm and level as the summoned hands waited before you with a few thick rags damp in some sort of chemical.

Gently you reached out to take one and bit the inside of your cheek, you remembered how to treat open wounds but this was on a monster.. you weren't sure if this was considered to be free bleeding so you decided to just clean off his back to the best of your ability first. The chemical on the rag must have been designed for this as the thick tar came off with ease, slowly turning the cloth obsidian as you uncovered more scars and oddly protruding bones. It didn't seem to hurt him, but he was stoic after all.

“I'm sorry you got hit, G..” you murmured, handing the soiled rag back to a hand to take a fresh one and pressed it to the wound deeply to try to get the bleeding to stop, you placed both hands on it and leaned your weight against his back. He hissed at this, a snarl weaving into the exhale as you sighed and continued, “I should have tried to say something else..”

He muttered under his breath, his eye sockets closed as you kept pressure at the wound, “It would not have mattered.”

“You're probably right..” you kept your attention focused on the task at hand as the rag soaked in the black gunk, “I had even thought that maybe.. Things could have gone differently. At least.. somewhat smoother.”

He didn't respond, you let your eyes wander over his form and traced his scars as you spoke up, “I didn't think he'd actually attack me..”

“He acted out of desperation, not from tact,” the scientist muttered.

“Is he.. going to be okay?” you chewed at the inside of your cheek, not sure if you wanted to hear his answer but he gave it regardless.

“Yes. I had to flush the small amount of magic he had remaining to keep him from coming back, he will most likely be out for a few days.”

You swallowed, 'days?' Even with exhaustion and broken rib he had been on his feet, lazy, but walking around and alert nonetheless. You felt like crying, but had no more tears to shed. Being with this monster had opened you to an entirely new perspective, a dark.. a lonely perspective. You still weren't sure of Gaster, and while there was a pattern to his behavior his mind and cognitive thought were far out of reach. But it must mean something for him to allow you to do this for him, he seemed like a very proud monster.

He spoke quietly, “Sans tires easy, while his attacks are merciless his stamina is weak.. the opposite of Papyrus.”

You nodded, remembering how Papyrus had attacked Flowey in the park full of smiles and spirit, you chipped in on the conversation, “He's quite the sweetheart.. But it seems he has a better handle on his attacks in some ways..”

Gaster hummed curiously, tilting his head to glance at you over his shoulder encouraging you to continue.

“Oh, I actually.. fought Flowey with Papyrus, Undyne and Sans awhile back,” you grinned sheepishly, he remained resolute, “He got out of the apartments to try to cause a scene or something.. Long story short it took all four of us to uproot him in the park. It was.. wild.”

You looked down to your hands, it should only be a few more minutes and you could check to see if he had stopped bleeding. His voice brought your attention back to the side of his face, “You fought?”

“Yeah, I had to get Sans' free from a bunch of vines while Papyrus and Undyne distracted and loosened the soil at his roots.. Flowey broke Sans' rib during the struggle but in the end the two brothers used some kind of.. gravity magic to pry him out of the ground with a bone acting as a lever. They dropped right out of the sky onto it, it was insane.”

You phased out a bit as you remembered that night, that entire day was brutal. It was nothing compared to the past few days, the dark reality of this mysterious man Frisk had led you to had completely turned your world upside down as you resided with such a lord of the damned. Yet, as you pressed to his wound and spoke with him.. a war veteran, a man who made desperate choices and lived with those consequences, he started to feel.. Human.

He continued the conversation, it was a good sign which helped you relax while his voice warbled across the room, “I assume you used your soul for this..?”

You nodded, quickly replying, “Yeah.. It was a spur of the moment type of thing.”

Gaster fell silent once more. With a few more moments you carefully eased off and removed the rag to sigh in relief, you had gotten the bleeding to stop. You gently wiped any dark stains from your hands and also rid yourself of the inky blotch on your neck before giving the used rag to an awaiting floating hand. A new one replaced it, carrying gauze and bandages to which you plucked from it gently. Quickly you went to work and had him sit up straight as you dressed the wound, you were diligent in your work as you wrapped the bandage around his shoulder and chest tightly.

Just as you were securing the bandage in place Frisk stepped into the room, your phone in their pocket as they stared at the both of you. They seemed frozen in place at the sight of Gaster's mutilated body but quickly snapped out of it as the doctor turned his attention to them, Frisk began to sign as you finished up and lightly patted his unhurt shoulder to show you were finished but he remained sitting as you slipped from the bed and stood next to him while catching the end of whatever Frisk had been saying.

_'-doors were locked.'_

You furrowed your brows, “Frisk, I told you to not go in there.”

The child folded their arms in irritation as Gaster slowly stood and brushed past you to the closet to grab a new shirt to put on. You glanced to him as he passed before turning back to Frisk who jerkily re-stated what they had told Gaster.

_'You were taking a long time to get back so I went to go find you. When I got to the end of the hall, at the double doors, I heard someone talking but the doors were locked.'_

You smiled sheepishly, “Oh, sorry Frisk..” you turned to Gaster just as he turned around to face you in a black t-shirt that hung loosely from his broad shoulders, his arms were just as badly laden in scars, “Does that mean it worked?”

“We shall find out, my dear,” he replied dryly, stepping past you towards the door as Frisk pattered down the hall. You couldn't help but notice the edge of his massive scar poking up through the collar of the shirt but sighed, at least he was talking relatively normal again.

You followed the two out into the hallway, your muscles ached as you went along but if Gaster could keep a straight face at such a vicious wound you could keep your mouth shut. As you passed the secondary door into the main corridor you heard a muffled voice from inside of the lab, curiously you looked up to Gaster who made a quick hand sign towards the door. You heard a loud clicking noise while Frisk hurried over and grabbed onto the door to push it open, you carefully stepped up beside the scientist to look inside over the top of Frisk and saw a small goat-like child in a striped green/yellow sweater. 

The monster had his arms folded across his chest with a scowl written all over his face, your eyes widened as your gazes met. He looked just like Toriel, soft white fur, floppy ears and little fangs peaking past his lips as he spoke with deep annoyance, “Well.. I'm on the other side, Sun.”

Your heart fluttered as Frisk rushed on over through the room and stood before the monster to which he uncrossed his arms, realizing who was in front of him as he murmured, “Frisk? What are you-”

The child pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly enough to that a little bleat shook through his throat. The sound was too adorable, you couldn't help but giggle as Frisk clung to them and you glanced up to the scientist who watched the scene with a bored expression. You spoke to him regardless, “Is that.. Asriel?”

He glanced down to you, pulling his scar ridden arms behind his back and exhaled lightly. You took that as a yes as you stepped into the room after Frisk just as they parted from the hug, Frisk was nearly crying and wiped at their eyes as you knelt down to the little monster. Asriel looked up at you with brilliant doe eyes as he spoke, “What happened..?”

He looked genuinely confused as Frisk pulled his attention over to them as they signed fervishly,  _'Sans and I came looking for you, I had a dream about Sun and she told me you were in a lab with an elevator-'_

Asriel huffed, it seems he kept the same personality as he had being a flower, “I knew we must be in a secret part of the True Lab, this tile is familiar-”

Frisk cut them off as they began to sign wildly, _'No, we looked there. On the way back I realized the elevator in the core didn't have a basement level, I got Sans to check the shaft and it goes clear down into the facility.'_

The hair on the back of your neck stood on end as you felt a slimy vein twist against your soul as they went on,  _'It took awhile but we finally found the right door.'_

Asriel blinked, glancing over to you then up at Gaster. The child shivered at the expression he was met with and quickly looked over to you, attempting to smirk but it came out shaky, “I guess that explains what I heard outside, huh?”

You nodded, sighing, “Sans was pissed..”

“Well we already knew he would be,” the goat rolled his eyes lightly, shrugging his shoulders, “But why is Frisk still here?”

Frisk feigned being insulted, placing their hand over their heart to which the goat gently punched their shoulder playfully. You smiled lightly as you continued, “He wouldn't listen to me.. per usual. G had to try to tire him out, he wouldn't have stopped otherwise.. It wasn't-.. It wasn't good...”

You couldn't help but to frown as you sat back onto the floor and rubbed at your face with your palms, the light scent of chemicals washing through your nostrils but you didn't care at this point. You were so tired, sore and now had to try thinking of what would happen after this disastrous incident. Gaster hadn't been nice to Sans, he hadn't taken him back kindly either so he must have also intimidated everyone else that was there. You would have a few days at best before the cavalry arrived, you'd have to have your shit together.

A small hand touched your shoulder while another soft, clawed one touched your forearm and as you looked over the top of your hands you found both children smiling to you. Asriel spoke first, smirking wide as he articulated, “We can figure it out. Toriel will be on our side and I'm sure Papyrus would listen-” 

“It's not going to be that easy, kids,” you drawled, sighing as your hands dropped into your lap as the scientist lightly stepped into the room and let the door close behind him, he stood above you quietly. You were used to him being so close to you all the time so it didn't bother you but it drew the children's eyes upward and Asriel bit his lip. He was obviously intimidated, those scars at his arms were vicious.

You spoke up, starting to pick at the ends of the fabric of your borrowed shirt, “We have to be smart about this. Undyne is really bull headed and will surely be furious, once Sans recovers his magic they will be a force to be reckoned with. Papyrus will of course lend a hand and while Toriel may not want to fight because of you, Asriel, she would be mad about these marks too..” 

You slipped a hand up onto your shoulder, touching the tattooed flesh, “I had hoped we could have walked out of here all together, explain everything.. but we're past that now. If we all left together now G wouldn't stand a chance against everyone at once and I'm not much help.. We may have to do this in parts.”

The kids looked back down to you as you furrowed your brows, deep in thought, “If we wait until tomorrow morning my soul can rest up, we can formulate a better plan if this isn't a good one.. But what if we took you two back to try to lay out some kind of understanding-” you bit your lip as they blinked and tried to interrupt but you ran them over with the rest of your thoughts, “-if I went with you I'd be just in a different prison, they wouldn't let me leave or talk to G.. they'd try removing his magic and I really don't feel like inexperienced monsters trying to touch my soul.”

“Then just have  _him_ remove the mark, duh,” Asriel snorted but you shook your head.

“It wouldn't be smart. The mark allows me to somewhat communicate with G subliminally, it could come in handy. Any which way I would be trapped in the apartment and once they knew we all were safe there would be nothing stopping them from being as reckless as they want.”

Silence fell upon the room before Frisk lifted their hands and began to sign,  _'So we should go back and try to convince Mom,'_ they looked to Asriel, ' _reuniting your family would be the most important thing.'_

The goat nodded as he watched Frisk. Gaster remained absolutely silent though you could feel his magic gently nudge along your soul as you shared your energy with him, the wound was deep and you didn't mind if it would help him settle down from the pain. You'd need him to help and cooperate if this was ever going to work. 

“I feel that's the best route to take too, it may not stop Sans but it should help settle Undyne if Asgore is also on our side.. or at least on speaking terms.”

The three of you nodded as you pulled yourself up from the ground and stood with your back to the scientist's chest, he was radiating heat and still smelt of oil. 

“Let's go talk in the lounge, it's kind of beaten up but there's places where we can sit and hash it out,” the children nodded with determination as they skipped around you two and bolted through the double doors down the corridor. You turned to go with them but noticed Gaster wasn't moving, you looked up into his neutral gaze and locked eyes with him. You sighed, knowing what he was irritated about.

“Yeah.. I guess I had a dream about Frisk. I didn't think it was real though,” you murmured.

“Interesting,” he breathed, “Seems as if your soul used my magic in the same way I can call upon yours.”

“Weird.. so you didn't set that up..?” you asked, raising a brow to which he slowly shook his head.

You stood silently for a moment, “So.. what happened..?”

He understood what you meant and exhaled lightly, muttering, “I sent him back to the apartment. The queen, Undyne, Alphys.. some human girl-,” your eyes widened, he was talking about Jenny, “and Papyrus were there. I was in no mood for conversation.”

You wanted to know more, that was hardly any information, “I guess they tried to talk to you..? I doubt that was all that happened, G.”

“Indeed.”

You frowned. Oh what a dick, you couldn't help but roll your eyes as you set your hands on his chest and tried to push him back out of the room so you could work this plan out with Frisk and Asriel but he remained firm. It was like pushing a brick wall. With a frustrated sigh you glared up at him, “G, come on. I get you don't feel good but I don't either, we gotta figure this out before they come back and try to kill you.”

“Why do you care what happens to me, my dear?” he asked flatly, that sent you blinking as you stopped pushing but kept your hands on his chest. His breathing was much less strained though you could still feel light grinding with each inhale as he went on, “I could remove my magic and send you all home with that favor of yours, this all could be over within minutes.”

“No, it wouldn't be over. They'd come back for you and there's no way you could fight them all, they'd kill you,” you huffed, not understanding his point.

“So?”

A hard pang went through your soul as your eyes slowly narrowed up to him, “What do you mean 'so'? Sure you're.. Tall, dark and gruesome but that doesn't mean you should die for it.” 

You felt his chest give a soft, sharp exhale as if he had laughed. Angrily you gripped onto the fabric of his t-shirt, “You're my friend, G. I'm not going to let them kill you after you saved Fl-.. Asriel. Without his soul he would have been banished, Frisk would have been crushed and he would have just come back and killed a bunch of people out of anger or.. just for fun. Without you he would have died, he would have never been with his parents again..”

“Without me you would be at home with your friends and Sans, my dear.”

You drew your gaze down to your hands as they shivered against his chest, chewing at the inside of your cheek you felt guilt, you felt sad at the memories of the past weeks with the skeleton. That relationship was now crumbling, you knew it was. You were too exhausted to cry so instead you swallowed it down bitterly as you opened your mouth and spoke softly, “Who knows what would be happening right now.. Flowey could have killed me, Sans could have killed Flowey.. Robert would still be alive and causing riots.. Frisk would have ran away.. It would be a giant mess. Asriel is the glue holding this mess together and now that he's okay it's one big worry off of the list.. especially combining that with Robert not being around anymore. That pig would never have stopped..”

You felt a gentle touch at the edge of your jaw and as you looked back up at him he seemed serious, his fingers tenderly running along your cheek as he muttered, “You feel as if this was worth it?”

You smiled gently, nodding against his touch, “It's been.. really intense. But I do think it was the right thing to do..” your smile dropped, “I just want everything to work out all right..”

He leaned down towards you, his eye socket drooping ever so slightly as he murmured, “It will, my dear. A sinner knows how to work around a difficult situation.”

You couldn't help but chuckle, a sudden twinge fluttering within your soul. On an impulse you stood up on your toes to press your lips gently to him with a soft peck, muttering against his hardened face, “Guess that makes me a sinner too.”

That did it, his mouth twitched into a smirk as his jaws began to part but the door suddenly slammed open and made you jump, setting back down to the floor firmly as you turned and saw both Frisk and Asriel standing there with their arms crossed. They each had a coy smirk plastered over their faces. You flushed, letting go of Gaster's shirt as he dropped his hand back to his side. You to begin stomping towards them with a growl, “Don't you guys give me that look, you aren't my parents!”

They squealed as they spun around and ran down the corridor with you hot on their heels, these children were going to be so dead if they mentioned this to anyone back home. The scientist straightened himself back up as he watched the three of you bolt down the hallway, hooting and hollering as Frisk laughed all the way into the lounge. His soft smirk stained upon his face as he slowly slid past the closing door and to the lounge.

 

Negotiations with Frisk and Asriel quickly dissolved. It was just you and Gaster on the couch sharing drinks as the kids ran around and slid across the smooth tile in their socks, you had let Asriel borrow yours. The alcohol felt great, the harsh flavor helped quell your anxiety as you watched the two kids play around the open room. You turned to the scientist just as he was taking a drink and leaned back against the cushions as you held your own glass.

“You buzzed enough to tell me what  _really_ happened?” you teased.

He hummed slightly, taking another quick drink before setting his elbow on the arm of the couch and turned more towards you, “Possibly.”

You tucked your legs up beside you as you pressed your side into the cushions, resting your arm on the back of the couch to run your hand through your hair, “The human girl that was there was probably my friend, Jenny. We used to work together with Robert at a firm.. I was just a receptionist but Jenny had clients like Robert.”

You muttered as you lifted the glass to your lips, “He was such an asshole..”

He blinked lazily at you as you took a sip and set the glass down on your leg, holding onto it carefully as you went on, “She's really nice. I bet she was scared out of her mind though..”

The faint hint of a smirk pulled at his lips, you caught it and narrowed your eyes playfully at him, “Okay seriously what did you do..?”

He shrugged his unhurt shoulder lightly, murmuring through the voices of Frisk and Asriel playing some made up game of 'slip-and-slide' tag, “I returned Sans and made sure they wouldn't come back for a few days, that is all.”

The alcohol in your system helped take the edge off but you still were uncomfortable with how he had grabbed Sans, knowing Gaster he probably flaunted some weird ability to scare everyone in the room, “Did you have to grab him like that..?”

“It doesn't hurt skeleton monsters, it is just unpleasant,” he lifted the glass to his mouth, “like the hole in my back.”

“That looks a tad more than unpleasant, G,” you chuckled, resting the side of your head into your hand as he took a light drink.

“But what I'm getting at is the plan sounds like it  _should_ work..” you motioned lightly towards the two children as they sailed across the cracked floor, laughing all the while, “to send these rugrats back first. Frisk can have Asriel call or text us with how things are going.. Or you could have Oliver go with them, either way works.”

He seemed curious about your idea, his eyes trained onto yours as you went on, “I guess I'll hang out here with you as things play out, if they still decide to come .. well.. then I guess we can face them together. Otherwise we both go to the surface and face them together.. either way it plays out like that, just the intent of the others is slightly different.”

“You wish for me to come with you to the surface?” he mused.

“Well, yeah. The barrier is broken.. You can't just stay here forever,” you waved at the ceiling lightly.

“What if I say no?” he chuckled, you just grinned at him as you responded.

“You don't have a choice.”

“Oh..?” he purred as you giggled.

“Yeah, because I am going to pull my favor on you..”

“And what may that be, my dear?” his eye sockets narrowed ever so slightly.

“That you have to come to the surface with me to help monster politics.”

His undamaged brow lifted as he took a rather slow drink of scotch, your grin only grew at his subtle reaction.

“You wish for me to assist in the appeal.. ?” he smirked rather deeply, a soft chuckle rolling in his chest, “I though I was done with making paperwork for the king..”

“Come on, G,” you sighed, scooting up a bit closer to him, “It will help your case and you'll be helping all of monster kind, I know it's not really your style but..” you giggled as he gave you an amused glare, “I know with you helping it will be just the punch monsters need.”

You both stared into each others eyes for a moment, only for it to be broken by hooting and cat calling from an obnoxious goat monster across the room. Frisk slipped around behind him and jumped onto his back with a fit of giggles. You laughed as Asriel was forced into giving Frisk a piggy back ride, you had no idea how they had so much energy and as you watched the goat trudge away across the room a light touch on your arm drew your attention back to the man sitting beside you. He had leaned forward, his eye sockets drooped sleepily as he murmured, “As you wish, my dear.”

“Well, if we get out of this according to plan,” you clarified with a laugh, a soft chuckle rolled in his chest as he let his arm drape over the back of the couch while you began to go over the plan in more detail. 


	29. The Noises She Makes in His Bed (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk uses the power of Determination to give you an advantage with the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last part of this bomb, a tad shorter than the rest but it was cut off from chapter 28 for easier readability.  
> Gonna have a PSA at the bottom of this here chapter too, some things I gotta talk about but for now enjoy!
> 
> (This scene is completely, utterly, totally consensual.)  
> EDIT: I've finally drawn up a proper sketch of our battered and bruised void man, enjoy!  
> http://allocatealoe.tumblr.com/post/140778137522/lich-gaster-from-my-fic-this-man-has-been-a

The both of you talked into the evening as Frisk and Asriel bounced between games, snacking on fruits and talking. They were like reunited siblings and against it all it made your soul thrum in a warm light in spite of your aches and pains. Your plans with the scientist were ironed out and you both were discussing the surface's culture before Frisk popped up in front of you both and held out your phone to you. Curiously you set the unfinished glass of scotch between your leg and the back of the couch as you took the device, Frisk began to sign as Asriel came up next to them.

_'My mom is really worried.'_

You blinked rapidly, looking down to the phone and froze as a bunch of text messages scrolled through the screen. Gaster had broken your phone, he had blocked texting and the call function. The scientist saw the activity on the screen and leaned forward to take the device from you as he opened up the screen and scrolled through it. He was normally very good at hiding his emotion but his slight buzz coupled with utter confusion made him frown.

“How curious..” he murmured.

“What's going on?” you asked, leaning over towards him as he tilted the screen to show you the numerous text messages from Toriel. The onslaught of messages were triggered by a single text from Frisk that read simply, _'Hi Mom, it's Frisk. Don't worry about us we are just chillin' before we come home tomorrow. Love you.'_

You went pale as beneath it was a blurry selfie of Frisk and Asriel with soft expressions, you could also see the couch with you talking to Gaster off in the background.

“Frisk what the hell?” you breathed, your heart racing as Gaster chuckled in great admiration.

“I have yet to see Determination such as this..” he murmured as he scrolled down through the frantic text responses from Toriel that were equally confused, flustered and beyond upset. She was torn with seeing the face of her son and how relaxed the overall atmosphere seemed to be within the facility. But the farther he scrolled the calmer she became as she ended her barrage with 'I love you's and you couldn't help but imagine her sobbing over the picture of seeing her son. You figured Gaster must have said something to her as she also mentioned something about him being right, telling the truth about her resurrected son.

“You mean Frisk's soul is so powerful they had  _changed the phone_ with sheer willpower?” you gaped, turning to the child who smiled proudly. Asriel seemed sheepish.

“Indeed, my dear. Nevertheless it could help ease the queen, giving her time to digest the prince's return before it happens tomorrow. It will make my job easier,” he spoke gently before handing the phone back to Frisk, the child took the device and began to text something and sent it before spinning around and held the phone up as Asriel pushed into their side and smiled. You blinked rapidly as you realized you were also in the selfie and pushed forward to give them two bunny ears with a cheeky grin on your face. Frisk took the picture and you all dissolved back into your original places as Frisk sent the picture.

“That's pretty smart, Warden,” you laughed, Asriel got the joke and threw his arms into the air with exasperation.

“I know, I know I was a giant a-hole no need to rub it in!” he heaved.

Frisk lightly punched his arm and laughed, you also giggled as the children yawned.

“Hey Frisk, what time even is it right now..?” you asked curiously. The child blinked and checked the phone, waiting a moment before turning the screen to face you with a brand new display of the time. It was almost midnight. Gaster gave a soft laugh, Frisk had just done that right in front of them with hardly any effort what so ever. It didn't surprise you anymore that this kid had saved all monsters.

“Wow kid, that's really something.. Though it's getting late and we have to get some rest before taking you guys back,” you unfolded your legs and stood from the couch, placing the glass on the table and beckoned the two who were grumbling. Gaster stayed on the couch for a moment more, finishing his drink as he watched you led the hellions down to the corridor.

“It's not much, but what if we take this bed from here..” you opened the door that you had stayed in, showing the kids the inside before stepping to the adjacent door and opened that one,”And put it in here? Or vice versa. That way you guys can stay together in the same room.”

They immediately became excited and shoved into the room, you helped them move the small frame into the next room over and made sure they got settled in all right. You let Frisk keep your phone, soft music was playing in the room as they sat on their own beds and began chatting. You smiled, patting both of their heads as you turned to leave with Gaster standing in the doorway, hands behind his back.

Asriel spoke up behind you which made you turn, “Where are you gonna stay?”

You blinked and smiled, “I'll be a up for a bit longer, I wanna go over everything one more time with G to make sure we have our bases covered.” 

“You're gonna fall asleep in the lab again aren't you?” he said slyly.

You just chuckled and waved a hand, “Probably, goodnight you two. Don't stay up too much longer, you know where to find us if you need anything and the bathroom is across the hall.”

They nodded before turning back to their conversation, you also turned and stepped over to the door which Gaster gently moved out of the way so you could get by. You decided to leave the door open as you both walked side by side down the corridor, today wasn't perfect.. but something good had come of all this trouble. Asriel was back, Frisk was happy.. this would be the last stretch, you couldn't afford another misstep.

As you reached the end of the hall you felt Gaster's gentle touch at the middle of your back as he opened the last door on the right, you blinked up at him as he escorted you down the short hallway.

“Wheere are we going..?” you mused, he just gave a light chuckle as he led you inside of his bedroom and lightly swung the door behind him though it remained cracked open. You went inside awkwardly, the smell of oil still strong in the room as you stood by the bed and looked back over to him.

“You want me to stay with you..?” your soul gave a flush of light.

“I'd prefer if you were in my sight, my dear. We do not know if something will happen tonight, it's best to be smart,” he responded simply.

You looked back to his bed, a flush drawing on your cheeks just as you felt a warmth press into your back, his hands delicately caressing past your arms. A shiver went down your spine as his head ducked down towards you, one of his arms slipping around your ribs while the other crossed over it to lightly touch at the side of your neck. Your eyelids closed as a shudder wove it's way through an exhale, pressing back against his strong torso as his fingers kissed across the mark upon your shoulder.

In an instant the lights were off, the sudden change made your eyelids flutter to take in the shadowy surroundings as his breath slipped across the side of your face, “It is best to lie with me tonight.”

A breath caught in your throat as your body felt flush, you could feel your soul quivering within your chest as you melted back against him. Bringing your own arms up you lightly set them on his tattered, uneven wrists and tilted your head away from his breath. His jaws parted hungrily at seeing your exposed neck, he slowly sunk his hot, dripping tongue along the side of your neck as he let out a soft pant. Feeling his chest heave ever so slightly at your back sent an odd thrill through your body, you had seen many sides of this monster but this one.. his passionate side, was the most endearing. 

He held you against him as his tongue took it's time across your skin, prodding along the bite marks at your neck and with each touch a shiver was sent down your spine. His fingertips traced curiously down your neck, along your collar bone and dipped down into the stretched turtleneck gently pressing to your sore flesh. His affections helped you relax as his gentle scent wrapped around you, reminding you of the kiss you shared in the kitchen to which your fingers twitched at with an internal craving.

Gently you moved to face him, tilting your head up as you panted and flicked your tongue out to him. He purred, a reverberating pressure building at your back as he complied and drew closer to you to meet your lips. Both of your jaws opened and gently ground as your tongues met once more, sharing the tastes of scotch and heavy breathing as his hands slid across your body to tuck up beneath the shirt. Your skin gave a soft quiver as his fingers slipped up against your bare body, hooking the fabric with his thumbs as he pulled the shirt up ever so slowly. 

While he lifted your shirt you couldn't help but to continue kissing him, greeting that odd hole within his tongue curiously. It was so interesting to play and wrestle with as you gave a light moan. He smirked as he tilted his head away from you, breaking the kiss while you huffed in frustration before he slid the shirt up over your head and tossed it to the side which gave you a great opportunity to spin around and trail your hands along his waist. Eagerly you slid your fingers up beneath his shirt, dipping them into his pants teasingly as he eyed you curiously. Your glares were cut short as he suddenly grabbed onto you, sending a yip through your throat as he hoisted you up into his arms. Managing to wrap your legs around him you locked your ankles behind his back and smirked, slipping your arms under his to avoid hurting his shoulder before you ducked down to his neck, biting down just beneath his jaw as he shivered. 

His flesh was hot beneath your teeth as you ran your tongue along his neck, grinding your fangs against his thick skin as he began to growl. It was a deep, low type of trembling that tickled against your lips as his fingertips dug into your back. An excitement stirred within your soul as you pulled such a reaction from him, he was so flat most of the time it had now become your mission to gather as much from him tonight as you could. Digging your fingertips into his back you gnawed up against his jaw teasingly, pushing his head up and away as you bit him greedily. For an added effect you dug your nails into his shirt and clawed across his back, avoiding his shoulder blades as you didn't want to get too close to his wound.

A soft pant pressed from his jaws and just as you were thinking that you were winning this he sent the both of you down onto the bed, pinning you beneath him as he drove his hips against yours in a deep roll. You gasped immediately, releasing his neck as he ground against your sensitive mound, panting lightly you could feel the heat building between your legs as he turned to look down at you sleepily. He pulled an arm from your back to keep himself propped up on his elbow, accounting for how much larger he was than you you tilted your head back to stare at him with an amused, sly grin pulling at your lips.

“Feeling hungry, my dear..?” he murmured, pulling his other hand from your back to slip down your hips and into your leggings, catching the fabric between his thumb and index finger while his claws gripped to your flesh, “Don't worry.. you'll have your fill of me soon enough..”

You let out a shaky pant as he rolled his hips forward into yours once more, there was strength behind his motions as he coaxed a gentle moan from your lips to which he silenced with his maw pressing against them heavily. Eagerly you met his tongue within his jaws, keeping him pushed back before finally caving with a passionate roll pressing into your mouth. You jumped at the chance to get another reaction and quickly pressed up into him as you sucked at his tongue heavily, grinding up along him with lust firing through your body. 

He shuddered clear down his back at this, the hand resting above you dug into the sheets while he kept at his needy hip grinding. The fingers at your thigh quickly made their way down, pulling your leggings with them to a certain point before he slid his hand up between your legs to press into your moist panties. You couldn't help but release his tongue as you groaned into his throat, your hands clawing down across his back as his fingers rubbed the fabric up against your clit with heavy movements.

Tilting his head away from your lips he snickered gently at how wet you were, he only continued to tease you as you slipped your hands up under his shirt and pressed them up along his scarred chest as you pulled the fabric up. With an annoyed huff he allowed you to pull his shirt off and tossed it off the bed as your hands shot back to only scratch down his stomach in a deep arch in sync with your light whimpering. His breathing hitched as you drove down to his belt and quickly began to unbutton his pants, his smirk only growing while your fingers fumbled against a growing bulge. He closed his eyes and tucked down against the side of your neck, breathing in your scent as you pressed the palm of your hand against his stomach and slid down into his pants. 

You swallowed at finding him, gripping to his shaft as you drew him out from the fabric and gently stroked down along him. He was large but this gave you a much better visual than the time in his study, he began to lightly pant against your skin as his jaws took your neck within them and held you firmly. The grip he had on you was just enough to make your eyelids flutter as you stroked along his length, bringing your free hand up along his back as your skin crossed over his tattered back and dug into his spine. Desire had swallowed you whole at this point as he pressed his hand back down between your legs, his fingers skillfully ducking to the side of your panties and pushed them out of the way as he pressed a clawed digit into your folds.

Whimpering you slipped your thumb over the head of his shaft, smearing a thick, hot and sticky bead across him which you instantly recognized as it nipped on your skin. He carefully slid a finger within your tight slit, thrusting it deeply before clawing it back out in a slow draw that send shivers down your legs and a moan from your throat. He merely just growled against your neck, a rumble that settled within your flesh as your soul fluttered. As he pressed back into you with two fingers your hips and back twisted at the sensation of him stretching you, a pant pressing from your lungs as you stroked along his throbbing shaft. 

The build up of excitement finally got to him as he pressed back onto his knees to lift himself off of you, forcing you to let go of him as you lightly panted. He placed his hands on either sides of your legs and pushed them up, out from around him and against your chest. He tore your leggings off, tossing them to the side as he summoned a hand to push down his pants and pressed down on top of you once more. With your legs pinned beneath his chest he used the bony hand keep your panties to the side while the head of his cock buried up against your tight, wet slit. 

He hardly gave you any time to contemplate what was happening as he drove his hips forward with a deep rock, thrusting himself within your tight, quivering walls as a gasp tore through your lungs. Your walls were burning with how quickly he stretched you, the pain only made your heart flutter wildly as you clenched your jaws to try to remain somewhat quiet but as he drew back to only thrust deeper within you a soft cry broke through your lips just as his clawed fingers covered your lips to muffle the noise. 

He gently released your trembling legs, letting them rest on either side of his ribs as he settled down over top of you and pressed his jaw to your ear, softly shushing you with a slow gentle hiss against your damp skin. Your gut twisted with the act, a moan beating against his fingers as he drew his hips back and deeply rocked them forward to bury himself further within your aching pussy. Your hands flung up onto his back, avoiding the bandages the best you could as he coaxed your walls to stretch around his throbbing shaft. He was soon grinding against your cervix not quite hilted but he didn't seem to mind as he let you feel him, grinding his hips deeply between your thighs as tears pricked at your eyes. 

The pain was so pleasurable, his scent, his taste.. you wanted this moment to be branded in your mind as that tight pressure gnawed at your lower stomach. He gently removed his hand from your mouth and instead tucked it beneath your lower back, pulling you into a deep arch as he rocked forward into you, jamming his throbbing member even tighter than before with the helpful angle. Your breath hissed between your teeth as a moan was choked out in your throat, your fingernails clutched at his back viciously as he began to fully thrust within you. Your walls were greedy, unwilling to let go of him as he drove within you to a deep, methodical pace that forced you to snap back up onto his neck to stifle a loud whimpering groan. 

His neck reverberated with a gentle hum of his own, his hot skin radiating down into your sore body as you felt your soul thrum with excitement. As he thrust you became used to his size, to his rhythm. It became second nature to grind your hips along with his as he stuffed himself within you and taunted your cervix with every other strong push within you. You could feel the sweat beading across your flushed skin as you clung to his back, pressing your body tightly up against him. His scars kissing at your delicate skin as you both worked together edging closer and closer through your whimpers and his gentle panting.

The soft sound of voices made you freeze but not Gaster, he simply tilted his head as if he was listening yet drove his hips forward in deep rocking that made you squeak and release his neck from your bite. You tried hissing at him but you were only met with his hand covering your lips once more and shoved your head down against the mattress. Your body was shivering, so close as he continued his pace through the soft murmurings of whatever was happening in the main corridor. Your heart was racing wildly as you clutched to him, your tense body drew a soft grunt from him as he rammed into you forcefully.

A soft, high pitched groan muffled against his hand as he dipped his jaws down by your ear, “Shh, my pet.. We're not done.”

Heart fluttering, soul trembling and sweating your legs squeezed into his sides tightly as he rammed into those tender sweet spots of yours just right. Shutting your eyes tightly you choked out a whine against his hand as your climax washed through your body in an electric wave. He gave a soft pant against your bare neck as he rode your through your shuddering orgasm, the voices and soft footsteps trailing away as you scratched down his back while whimpering. He snapped onto your neck with his jaws, lining up the original bite mark as he sunk his jagged fangs against your flesh. He held you down with his powerful jaws as he gave a final few thrusts against your quivering body. With a feral snarl he locked his hips to yours as he filled you with his burning essence, the thick black ooze slipping from your folds and trailed down your ass as he held himself to you. 

Your eyelids fluttered wildly at the sensation, your chest heaving with your erratic pants as he slowly removed his hand to allow you to breathe unhindered. He was burning your insides but it hurt oh so good against the gradual ebb of your high, your muscles beginning to unwind as you ran your hands curiously over his back. His jaws began to slack as you sighed deeply, you could feel your soul invigorating your tired body and you both basked in it's strength.

As your conscious mind filtered back in you lightly laughed as he fully released your neck and hummed down to you. Turning to him you pressed your lips against his jaws softly before breaking the kiss and murmuring, “You jack ass..”

Your eyelids fluttered open to meet his gaze. The bright white eyes in his half lidded sockets lightly illuminated your faces as you panted with a soft laugh, “If we had gotten caught I would have literally died..”

His voice was soft yet rumbled deeply within his throat, a smirk playing upon his cracked face, “Afraid of Frisk taking advantage of another selfie opportunity, my dear?”

Your soul felt as if it would burst from your chest as you laughed, trying to remain quiet but failing as he brought his hand up and lightly cupped the side of your face. You nuzzled slightly into his touch as you relaxed against the mattress and sighed, “Thanks for that image, G.”

He hummed lightly, resting his forehead down onto yours as you stared into his eyes. You met his gaze confidently, comfortably before tilting your head up and gave him another soft peck that evolved into both of your mouths parting to meet your tongues in a gentle, tender kiss. As your tongue twisted ever so slowly against his he pulled his hips away from you, drawing a shudder from your spine as he left you empty, sore and coated with his stinging seed. He kept you distracted with his tongue as he used a summoned hand to fix himself back into his pants and hike them back up onto his hips while another grabbed a blanket at the end of the bed and drew it up over the both of you. He carefully rolled off of you and onto his back, minding his bandages as you turned and set your head onto shoulder with a satisfied sigh. 

“Hey G..?” you murmured, he hummed softly with his eyes closed as the hand vanished after covering your form. You could feel your soul's energy waning but it was a soft touch that didn't phase you, “Are you really a Lich?”

His mouth cracked into a smile as he turned his head and opened his eyes slightly to peer at you, “Yes, but not in an entirely traditional sense.. Sans and Papyrus are not phylacteries,” you figured he was just saying those things to goad Sans, “but yes I can control them. Although, I prefer not to.”

“So it's true that you did make them in order to break the barrier..?” you asked quietly, he turned his gaze to the ceiling before speaking.

“Yes, they were meant to be like my blasters but instead they were awoken as cognitive children. I had made something completely unnatural, twice.. I had to disguise my creations as my own family, the king adores children,” he huffed, rolling his eyes.

“You don't consider them to be .. well.. yours?” you asked, not knowing if you'd ever get another chance like this with the scientist.

“I consider them clones,” he sighed, closing his eyes, “But Papyrus insisted, being young and too gentle he couldn't see the difference as Sans had.”

You remained silent, digesting his words as he went on, “We did imbue Sans with determination for a multitude of reasons, curiosity mainly. He is a rather powerful monster, though lazy.. I was never going to do the injections with Papyrus, he wouldn't be able to use the ability anyways. He was not fit for actual battle yet his mind is sharp, he would make a great strategist.”

You nodded gently, setting a hand up on his chest as he paused for a moment. His breathing was slow and regulated beneath your palm with no odd grinding going on below his flesh, you took that as a good sign.

“Sans became paranoid during my training sessions with Papyrus, I had to prepare Papyrus as I had Sans. He would still need to learn how to use his magic regardless of his ability to follow through with a finishing blow,” he paused, as if tasting the words before he spoke them, “Sans may be impulsive yet he does act with the best interest of the ones he loves, Papyrus kept him grounded and helped fill a sense of normalcy that I could not offer.”

“Why couldn't you..?” you murmured. He smirked, letting out a soft puff of air.

“Have you met me, darling..? I am a monster of science, of discovery .. not one for kindness, for family.”

Silence fell between you two, you blinked as you mulled around the words in your head. You gently spoke against his skin, “Do you regret them..?”

The man was quiet, the seconds ticking by before he finally spoke, “No. I am quite proud of my work, but they are.. something else entirely.”

“Why don't you just tell them that?” you murmured, settling into him as you continued your pillow talk. The burning sensation across your loins and thighs only helped relax you further into the sheets, against his peculiar body.

“Hmn, Sans would feel it as some sort of trick while Papyrus does not remember me.”

You exhaled deeply, for some reason you had thought bringing the Dreemurr family together would be more difficult than this one. Man were you wrong. You were stuck with two monsters who were extraordinarily headstrong, uncomfortable with airing their feelings and there were clear misunderstandings between the two. Papyrus was so loving and sweet it wouldn't be hard for him to relearn Gaster's behavior and tendencies but Sans despised how the scientist thought, all his quirks and flaws were giant red flags that he just couldn't accept. It had even drove him to sabotage that ultimately sent the scientist into the void and while his guilt was strong he refused to finish his attempts at correcting his mistakes. Gaster's new form in the void must have shaken him to the core, believing that whatever he had turned into wasn't truly his Father anymore.

The excitement of the day was finally getting to you as you laid there, your eyelids gently falling as your breathing deepened and slowed. You fought against the feeling but it was a failing battle, you still managed to murmur, “I'm sure Papyrus would want to know you, G.”

He hummed lightly as if thinking over your words, silence fell across the room and just as he was beginning to feel that you had passed out soft words slipped from between your lips, “I'm glad I got to know you..”

He glanced over just as sleep lulled you into a rhythmic, deep breathing that caressed his tattered skin. Turning his gaze back to the ceiling lazily he allowed himself to relax, the throbbing burn in his back was fading to a dull ache as his magic intermixed with the woman's soul beside him. Laying alone with his thoughts he felt an odd, different sensation within his chest. Perhaps she was being honest, she seemed to accept and learn his idiosyncrasies through the span of a handful of days. She was no longer nervous or scared of him, no matter how hard he had tried to intimidate her. 

It was.. No,  _she_ was interesting.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo it's been brought to my attention that a few of you guys are super uncomfortable with where this story is headed and how the reader has handled being marked/behaves around Gaster. I get the reasons behind that, truly I do. I don't want to trigger or offend anybody or make them feel as if they can't finish this fic because of them.  
> My writing style is very.. dark. I enjoy writing about dark themes, graphic scenes and deep/complicated characters.  
> BOTH Sans and Gaster are flawed, they have issues dealing with each other and both are rather selfish but have different reasons for it. Gaster is a curious type of selfish, he is not emotional. Things that would bother someone do not effect him because he doesn't really /feel/ anything about it. It is either interesting to him by getting a certain reaction/observation or it is bland to him. He is numb. He marked reader to keep tabs on her, to communicate better with her and to attach more to her soul so he could gain energy from her. He did what he did in chapter 24 to purely test a curious theory about human souls. (Yeah, he's an asshole.)  
> Sans is highly emotional when it comes to his family and his origins, he felt like a tool, like an object. He couldn't relate or understand why Gaster is the way he is, instead of realizing his dad is just extremely logical and unfeeling he deduced that behavior to just being inherently evil and malicious. This made him wary and paranoid of Gaster. This spelt disaster as Gaster is not emotional, he doesn't notice if something is wrong or off besides a surface change of expression. And this ultimately led to Sans rigging the machine and causing the accident that pulled Gaster into the void. Which he felt guilty about because he is emotional, he tried to fix the machine but whenever Gaster communicated with him it terrified the skeleton. He didn't want to bring more of a monster back into the world so he abandoned him. The scientist remembers this as a fact, not an emotional pang or hurt.
> 
> There are a multitude of adult themes such as the hints of Gaster's drinking problem throughout the past few chapters. These characters behave the way they do because of nature AND nurture, I hope I painted a good enough picture of the scientist's background to help you guys get a better foot hold on this monster without you guys having it be told to you. I know you guys aren't dumb, I don't need to hold your hand and spoon feed you the plot.  
> I don't want to flat out tell you guys what happened, I want you to experience it as a collective while we work through this piece by piece. I want my writing to make you guys feel, to be in that moment whether it be fear, surprise, happiness, ectetera but I absolutely do not want it to trigger anyone. Because of this reason I have edited, omitted and changed the dialogue to Chapter 27. Sans was being a major dick on purpose, he was trying to get the reader to go against Gaster no matter the cost even if it meant being manipulative. Which is exactly what he was doing. He used those words, that shaming, to confuse and try to sway the reader to look at his perspective which is nothing but pure hatred for Gaster. He truly feels as if Gaster is evil and intently malicious when he really is not, he just can not connect with emotion and does things to sate an inner curiosity that made him a great scientist. It allowed him to survive in war, it allowed him to do things no sane person would to try to free his people which included cloning himself to try making stronger weapons. 
> 
> In the next few chapters we will get a view into Sans' head back in the apartment that reveals this more. I just couldn't wait another week to address this issue. It was bothering me to the point where I just could not get my head back into the game to wrap up this fic.  
> In no way am I condoning Gaster's actions, he is not a good person but San's isn't either. The reader is smart, she picks up on how Gaster behaves and quickly learns how to deal with him. He simply just becomes another monster to her, he doesn't scare her because she understands how he is and accepts it. She knows how to deal with a tiger, she treats it like a tiger and doesn't expect it to behave like a kitten. Gaster wont ever change and yet she has learned how to have a relationship with him, how to talk to him and how to read him. She got herself into this mess and she accepts the consequences of that while simultaneously trying to get things to work where no one else has to get hurt. It's why she kicked the bone away from her in chapter 27, it was pointing at her, blaming her for this entire mess and she knows it's true but it doesn't mean things have to end horrendously especially because she knows Gaster isn't a torturous evil being hellbent on sick experiments. He doesn't deserve to be killed, nobody left alive in this fic deserves to be hurt.
> 
> I hope this cleared some things up for you guys.


	30. Plotting and Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today was the day.  
> It would either go fine or terribly, terribly wrong.  
> The plan had to go off without a hitch, things had to be timed perfectly for this to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of back and forthing in this chapter. My apologies but it works better this way.  
> Guys, this is gonna be the last bomb of this fan fiction. You excited? You sad?  
> Don't worry. You have over forty pages of reading material coming your way.
> 
> Also if you have missed it I've finally drawn up a proper sketch of our battered and bruised void man, enjoy!  
> http://allocatealoe.tumblr.com/post/140778137522/lich-gaster-from-my-fic-this-man-has-been-a

Toriel's apartment was buzzing now for a full forty eight hours. Since Frisk had told them about their dream Sans had drug them out the door back to the underground, the others had no choice but to wait for them to just come back empty handed like they had each time for over a week. But now, as Sans lay barely awake on the couch with Toriel's phone being passed around the entire group with tears in her eyes things were only getting worse. Asgore couldn't believe his eyes and silence fell between each monster in the room just as Jenny knocked on the door and let herself in to see the group silent. That huge, black bleeding monster had scared most everyone half to death. Sans hadn't been lying when he ranted about how dangerous he was, how urgent it was to get Sun away from him. And now he had not only her but Frisk as well. As Jenny made her way to the group quietly she peered over Papyrus' arm to look at the screen and was met with a picture of Frisk, a small goat child and Sun all posing happily though she noticed that odd monster lounging beside Sun so casually, a slight smirk on his face as he glanced to the silly group with.. was that a glass of scotch in his hand?

“What the hell..?” she murmured, Papyrus looked to her and smiled.

“HELLO HUMAN JENNY! IT SEEMS AS IF WE DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY, HE MAY BE REALLY WEIRD BUT HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE YOUNG PRINCE!”

“It's got to be fake!” Undyne sneered, stomping around the room with her hands clutching the sides of her face.

Toriel spoke up softly, not sure if she should be laughing or crying, “Frisk sent this to me last night from Sun's phone, a few hours after that monster left.”

Asgore stroked his beard, deep in thought as he stood beside his ex-wife as recollection tickled in the back of his mind, “I'm not sure why.. But I know this monster. Was he not the royal scientist ages ago?”

Sans slowly turned his back to the group, muttering, “yeah.”

“I don't remember him-!” Undyne snarled, “That guy's a freak, we gotta take him out!” she declared, whipping around to face the two boss monsters as Alphys stood nervously beside Jenny and tapped her claws together as the human cut in.

“But she seems fine, they all seem fine..” Jenny looked to the screen as Papyrus handed it to her, the more she stared at the picture the more confused she became, “It's like they are just casually hanging out.. It is really out of character for what we saw yesterday..”

“PERHAPS HE WAS GROUCHY!” Papyrus smiled, waving his hand as Undyne paced across the floor, “MY BROTHER MANAGED TO LAND A HIT AFTER ALL, NYEH HEH!”

“Oh I'll land a hit, a hit right for that smug shit eating grin,” Undyne grumbled, trudging back and forth between the group.

Jenny glanced to the skeleton on the couch, he remained silent as Asgore spoke up, “Clearly this issue is more complicated than we thought..” he rubbed at the bridge of his snout as he sighed, “I see my son on that screen.. yet that can't be possibly true.”

Jenny added on as she looked at the picture, “I don't see Flowey in here either..”

Alphys froze, her body lightly trembling as sweat began to glisten on her forehead as Undyne slammed her foot into the ground and pointed at the human.

“That just PROOVES it! It's a fake picture, it's not possible. We gotta go and find where they are _now_!” The fins at the side of her face quivered with her words as Alphys' claws loudly ticked against each other. Asgore gave a heavy sigh and stepped forward, looking between Undyne and Papyrus.

“I find this a sick joke, we must find them and put this all to an end..”

Toriel grabbed onto the man's burly arm, blinking away tears, “What if it's not fake..?”

“Tori..” he murmured as a soft whine cracked through her throat, she began to tremble as he turned towards her and spoke gently, “I miss him too.. but we know what happened. This is impossible. How all of you described this monster to me I believe he should not be entirely trusted.”

“BUT THERE IS A CHANCE!” Papyrus beamed, placing his hand in the air nonchalantly as Undyne hunched her shoulders and dropped her clenching hands with the palms facing upwards in total disbelief.

“Papyrus you can _not_ be serious!” she flung her arm out towards the couch, Sans remaining quiet yet he listened to the group, “Look what he did to Sans!”

Jenny swallowed dryly beside the shivering Alphys as Asgore turned away from his ex-wife to look at Papyrus, “I know you see the good in everyone, Papyrus. But this kind of action is not baseless, this monster must have abilities far different than our magic. Frisk, Flowey and Sun must be in grave danger.”

“There's no way that those pictures could be real!” Undyne hissed, drawing her arm back to her side with her fist clenched, “Flowey isn't in them, they look way too casual and the late prince is now suddenly alive? _It makes. No. Sense_!”

Asgore nodded slowly as Toriel wiped at her eyes, the king spoke with authority, “Undyne, Papyrus we must leave now in order to stop this.”

The two guards nodded to each other as Jenny spoke up, “Should I come along too..?” Alphys' trembling only became worse the longer she stood there.

The three monsters turned and went towards the door, Undyne patting Jenny on the shoulder as she passed, “Nah, stay here and let us know if any more messages come in. We've got bad guy butt to kick!”

Just as they began to reach the door Alphys let out a yipping, trembling shriek, “N-no!”

With raised brows the three monsters turned back to the living room, Toriel quieted her sniffles as she gazed to the tiny lizard monster looking as if she would start breaking down at any minute.

“I-it's pr-prob-probably r-real,” she stammered.

“Alphys, babe, there's no way that could really be Asriel-” Undyne tried but was cut off as Alphys hid her face behind her hands and nearly sobbed.

“I-i ha-have s-somet-something to.. to t-tell you..”

The small monster looked up through her foggy glasses to watch Toriel's eyes begin to widen, fresh tears stinging at her large eyes, “I.. I-i'm s-so.. so.. sorry..”

 

As the group pulled back together and Alphys stammered through her confession of making Flowey, of the possibility of Asriel's dust being imbued within the living creature she had created. Sans continued to lie there motionless. His dull eyes staring into the back of the couch, feeling hungover with a powerful headache as he stared into space. He already knew this story. He knew the picture was real. But the way his bones ached at seeing Gaster so casual, so loose and so close to Sun.. the way how she posed with the two kids and the revived, the redeemed Flowey. He had to swallow another huge mistake he had made. She had been trying to tell him what was happening but he just couldn't believe it, he refused to believe it. As Alphys continued her confession Toriel began to sob into the palms of her hands, the group collectively gasping while Sans focused on the fabric in front of his face. He has seriously fucked up.

 

 

***

 

The next morning your body naturally woke itself up. With a yawn and a stretch your body popped and relaxed back into the warm sheets beneath you still heavily laced with the scientist's scent, with a huff you managed to push your arms out and felt nothing. Lightly flicking your eyes open you found the bed empty and the sheets tangled around your naked body, the room was still dark but the lights in the hall shimmered through the crack in the door as you managed to pull yourself up and ran a hand through your hair. You felt energized, you felt calm. Glancing around the darkened room you listened carefully but heard nothing, with a sigh you figured everyone must be in the lobby and thought that you might as well join them.

Clambering across the bed was easy enough and as you stood looking for your discarded clothes you instead found a freshly folded outfit on the desk. Curiously you stepped to it, these clothes.. they were yours. You picked up a shirt gently, your brow furrowing as you realized you hadn't worn this here. A piece of paper drew your attention beside the pile of fabric, the handwriting was in some odd language but as you stared at it the translation wove into your mind, _'I have fetched you a change of clothes from the apartment, my dear. Feel free to shower and get dressed, we will meet you in the lobby.'_

He had gone into your apartment..? And nobody saw him? You couldn't help but to smirk, a soft laugh pressing through your throat as you picked up the pile and looked across the room to the master bathroom and felt excitement seep into your spine to see the last unknown in the facility. You kept the lights off as you padded on over into the large, tiled room. It wasn't too fancy but there was plenty of counter space and the shower was rather large, on the counter were similar soaps like the ones you had used earlier. Without hesitation you turned on the lights, the water and set your new clothes next to the sink before nabbing the soaps and jumped in.

You showered, got dressed and headed out of the bedroom and towards the corridor. Pressing the door open to step outside you were met with the laughter of Frisk and Asriel from the lobby. You wasted no time hurrying over to the open room and as you walked inside you found the two kids sitting atop the island counter, plates in their laps and smiles on their faces as music played from your phone next to Frisk. Gaster had his back to you, only wearing one of his grey turtlenecks with no lab coat. As you approached the kids noticed you and Frisk waved while Asriel chirped.

“Howdy, Sun!”

“Hey everybody,” you chuckled as you came up to the counter just as Gaster turned with a plate in his hand and stepped to the island to slide it across the counter top towards you. You skipped up to the counter and took the offering of food, similar to what you had made the other day and smiled to the bored expression plastered on his face, “Thanks, G. What's the occasion?”

You dug in as he turned his back and cleaned up the counter beside the sink, Frisk popped a berry into their mouth as Asriel turned to you, “In case we all die or something.”

“Pffft-” you snorted, digging into your food as you eyed the goat child.

Frisk snapped their fingers towards Asriel to catch his attention, holding a berry in their other hand before tossing it up into the air for the goat child to snap it up and chewed thoughtfully. You giggled and shook your head at their new game, not either of them missed a toss of food while you worked through your own plate. Today would be the day, it would either go well or it would go terribly, terribly wrong. You kept a positive attitude though as you finished up and perked up to Frisk.

“So did you get any more messages?”

Frisk shook their head, one of your playlists gently playing in the background as Gaster turned back to the island and stood with his arms folded. You were used to his subtle expressions as you moved the plate to the side and rested your arms on the counter top, “All right, so when G takes you guys back it's important to try to go slow with everyone. Don't pile on a bunch of information at once, especially Toriel. How do you guys plan on staying in touch?”

You glanced between the two as Frisk lifted up their sleeve, showing a little black moth with a tear in it's wing resting upon their skin. You blinked, “Oliver..? That's pretty smart.”

Frisk smirked and tucked the fabric over the top of the little bug before lifting their hands to sign, _'While Oliver is with me I can understand Gaster without him signing too.'_

Asriel nodded and chimed in as he rolled up his sleeve to show another moth, “It's nice to finally understand what he's saying.”

Your jaw went slack, “You mean.. you couldn't understand him this entire time?”

The goat shook his head, “I didn't need to. He never spoke to me.”

Blinking rapidly you had completely forgotten the scientist needed to be translated, you were so used to it by now it had become like speaking to anybody else. You shoved the thought out of your head, you needed to focus.

Asriel tucked his sleeve back down and spoke up, “Gaster will be able to hear everything that is going on back home, that's better than trying to text you as that will be hard to hide. They may shove us in a room and lock it before coming here in the worst case scenario.”

You nodded, chewing at the side of your cheek gently as you thought. Your eyebrows shot up as you hummed and pointed to Gaster, he met your eyes as you went on, “It's probably best if you don't hang out very long.. _Or_ cause any more trouble for yourself,” his eyes slightly narrowed, “I know you are naturally pretty intimidating, G.. But let's keep it on the down low.”

He lightly shrugged, you turned your attention to Frisk, “If you need a plan B it's probably best to cause the most trouble you both can so that _someone_ will have to stay behind and watch you guys, that will make it easier for G and I if it comes to a conflict.”

Asriel smirked, “Yeah we got that covered-!” the two children gave a hearty high five before looking back at you.

“Either way tell them we will meet them away from the city. Remember that field at the base of Mt. Ebott, Frisk-?” they nodded, “Tell them that's the place we will be. It gives us an escape route, it's secluded and there's plenty of open space so the only person who can sneak up on us is Sans if he's recovered enough.”

The two kids nodded with smiles, you didn't know how they were so confident but it was infectious, you stood up straight and held your shoulders back, “Also be sure to mention that we can have some political leverage, that should help convince Asgore if he isn't swayed. We mainly have to worry about Undyne and Sans.. the hot heads.”

Frisk began to sign, _'With mom on our side she should be able to talk everyone down, especially with Asriel there.'_

You turned to the goat, he was fiddling with his fingers and you placed a hand on his leg, “You nervous?”

“I.. I think..?” he murmured, “It feels like my insides are turning around..”

You chuckled, “Yeah, that's called being nervous. It'll be okay, don't think about us at first.. just be with your parents. Gaster and I can come afterwards as there's plenty of time. This way you get to have a moment with your parents and get settled without the chaos both G and I will cause if I tag along.”

The boy nodded just as Gaster spoke, soft yet serious, “It's time.”

You stepped back as the kids inched over to the edge of the counter and dropped down in front of you, you leaned down and pulled them into a hug which they reciprocated tightly. Closing your eyes you took a breath, trying to calm yourself down as you murmured, “Just know that you guys are my family, if anything happens-”

“It wont,” Asriel said as they pulled away from you, lighting wiping at his face with his free wrist. He looked back up to you with determination, mimicking Frisk as they gave you a thumbs up, “Nothing is going to happen, Warden and I are on the case!”

Gaster stepped up beside you as you pulled yourself up straight, glancing up to him you couldn't help but to let out a nervous laugh, “You better come back..”

His tight mouth lightly twitched into a smirk as the two kids stood on either sides of him and gripped onto his pants. He murmured lightly as he placed his hands onto the children's heads, “I will see you soon, my dear.”

You smiled into his gaze just before they vanished, leaving you alone in the large room with the music softly playing from your phone on the counter. Your smile soon faded as you looked over to the counter and felt a lump forming in your throat. This was it.

 

 

***

The scientist was greeted by a chorus of gasps, per usual. Though as he looked out across the room he found their gazes drifting down to the two children on either side of him, he carefully lifted his hands and nestled them behind his back as Asriel and Frisk looked up to the crowd. Sans was the only one moving as he pulled himself into a sitting position on the couch, his eyes pitch black as he stared towards the new arrivals with Papyrus standing just next to the couch and Asgore stood beside him. Sweeping to the other side he found Toriel stumbling forward as the children rushed ahead and were enveloped into a tight hug while she fell to her knees. The queen pressed her palm against her mouth to stifle her sobs but a flash of blue pulled his gaze further to the left and caught Undyne pointing a spear right at his throat with that human girl standing just behind her, Alphys quivering just beyond the human.

The fish woman sneered, the energized spear crackling through her tight grip but the king spoke up as he took a step towards his ex-wife with wide eyes, “No, Undyne..”

She tilted her head over to the king as Toriel pulled away, hardly being able to see as Asriel beamed up at her with tears in his own eyes as he murmured, “I was so sick of being a flower.”

Toriel began to laugh weakly as Frisk looked over and saw Undyne, the child rushed over to stand in front of the scientist's shins and held their arms out with a determined scowl. Asgore knelt down and pulled his son into his arms, the small child trembling horrendously as they had their reunion. The king gently murmured to his son, quieting him down as Undyne spat down at Frisk.

“Get out of the way, punk! He still has Sun-!”

Frisk shook their head, deepening their scowl as Papyrus stood nervously beside his brother who had pulled himself from the couch and stood shakily. Gaster noticed this movement from the corner of his eye but kept his gaze locked onto the woman in front of him. The human girl behind her placed her hand on the warriors shoulder while gazing up at the scientist, “Calm down, Undyne. This proves that picture we saw is real.. She's probably fine-”

“Or it's a ploy!” she sneered, the scientist didn't care too much for her tone but managed to keep his expression blank.

The child began to sign vigorously while the Dreemurr family had their tender moment, murmuring between each other as tears were shed on the floor, _'It's not a ploy, Sun didn't want to come with us because she didn't want you guys freaking out and attacking him.'_

The woman held her gaze with the doctor, her arms loosening a tad but not by much until a bony hand reached up and grabbed onto her wrist weakly. She jerked her head, breaking the eye contact as she spat down, “Sans, what the hell isn't this the guy that drug you back here by your god damn face?!”

Sans' white eyes bounced back into his sockets as he looked up to Gaster. The skeleton kept his head dipped, his neutral grin spread across his face as he spoke softly, “yeah.”

“Well then what the hell?!” she snarled as Papyrus came up beside his brother.

“IT SEEMS AS IF MY BROTHER HAS HAD A CHANGE OF HEART FOR THIS 'OLD FRIEND'!”

The scientist kept his attention to the scene in front of him as the King slowly lifted himself from the floor but the queen's voice broke through the conversation as she held onto the lightly crying Asriel, “Thank you..”

Gaster's eyes flicked across the room to her, holding her gaze and saying absolutely nothing. Frisk took this opportunity to translate for him, _'He says no problem.'_

“He didn't even move!” Undyne sighed in exasperation.

“AH HE MOVED WITH HIS EYES! NYEH HEH! THE MOST CLEVER WAY TO COMMUNICATE,” Papyrus japed which only made Undyne grind her teeth together.

The human, Jenny, lightly laughed behind the woman and stood up beside her, the scientist could vaguely make out the shivering Alphys behind the small crowd in front of him. Their stares caused his skin to itch as Undyne began to lower her spear and Sans' hand dropped back into his jacket pocket.

Jenny spoke up delicately, “When _does_ she want to come back..?”

Gaster remained resolute as Frisk began to sign, _'Later today, at the base of Mt. Ebott where we can have a more comfortable discussion. She wanted to make sure Asriel got home and reunited first, then-'_

Asgore spoke up, cutting Frisk off as the scientist's eyes flicked over to his old boss while Frisk turned fully to him with their hands paused in the air, “Why not just bring her back now? You have.. done a favor for this family..”

Frisk nodded but signed anyway, _'She thinks some things need to be said in a neutral atmosphere. Not here. Not right now.'_

Sans tilted his head lightly as he glanced up to the scientist, it was different to not see him wear a lab coat. Gaster's eyes flicked back to the skeleton quickly, his bored expression sent Sans' eyes away and to Frisk as Asgore nodded slowly.

“WELL THIS MEANS WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS!” Papyrus beamed, placing his hands together as he looked to the scientist, “I'M SURE ONCE WE GOT TO KNOW YOU.. YOU WONT BE SO.. FREAKING WEIRD!”

Miraculously Gaster managed to keep his expression blank but Frisk began to giggle. Sans' turned his gaze to his brother nervously as he took a step forward towards Gaster, his youngest son was tall but not as tall as he was, “ARE WE FRIENDS THEN?”

At first the scientist wasn't going to respond, but for some reason those words from last night wove through his mind  _ ' _ _I'm sure Papyrus would want to know you, G_ _ ' _ , he found his hands slowly move from behind his back to the front of his chest. Sans' eyes went wide and Undyne sneered as she raised the spear once more but Gaster kept his attention on Papyrus,  _ 'I'm glad I got to know you..'.  _ The scientist's jaws lightly parted as he spoke slowly and began to sign in his native language, “If that is what you wish, Papyrus.”

The skeleton was confused at first before he looked down to Frisk who smiled and signed the translation verbatim. The skeleton grinned and looked back up but found that the scientist had vanished.

“WOWIE.. WAIT. HOW DID HE KNOW MY NAME?” the younger brother rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, Toriel standing with Asriel cradled in her arms as she looked over the group with red eyes. Sans merely chuckled softly, his eyes lingering where Gaster had been before his gaze dropped down to Frisk.

“so. kid. what really happened down there..?”

Beaming with determination the child began to weave the tale through their hands as the group gathered around and listened. 

 

***

Chewing at the inside of your cheek, sitting on the counter and swinging your legs you tried to stay positive. Instead your mind went through so many scenarios and ones that even included the entire city exploding, leaving you trapped in the facility forever. You figured you could survive on what you had for maybe a week but at least you'd have water so that would be a month before you would die. Even the music playing from your phone couldn't help settle your stomach as you went through ways to try to figure a way to climb back up the elevator shaft if two weeks had gone by. Eh, who were you trying to kid? You didn't have the upper arm strength to pull yourself up those cables.

Just as you felt madness sinking it Gaster reappeared in the lobby, you jumped down from the counter and hurried over to him as he looked down at you with a bored expression. You practically panted as you stopped before him and giddily asked, “How'd it go..?' 

He watched your face blankly, a smirk lightly tugging at his mouth. Oh no, he was really going to be like that? Your jaw went slack and you glared, “G, don't do this to me.”

Ever so slowly he blinked down at you, moving his hands behind his back as your face scrunched up in sheer irritation, “..  _ G, I swear to god _ ..”

Nothing. He didn't even blink this time. With an aggravated growl you poked a finger into his chest, just beneath his sternum, “Tell. Me.”

The two of you locked gazes, your eyes only narrowing further and further at his bland expression until you finally cracked and threw up both of your hands and spun around to stomp away from him, “Fine! FINE! You win!”

He watched you trudge away, a deep smirk tugging at his mouth before he skillfully dropped it as you spun around and lunged for him. Gripping onto his shirt you shook him lightly and glared up into his eyes, “If you don't tell me like, right now, I am  _ literally going to die _ ..”

He shrugged his shoulders ever so lightly, it was as if your heart had shattered. Eyes wide and utterly defeated you could only just stay gripped to him. He was much more stubborn and jack ass-y than anyone else you'd ever met. Eventually a smile cracked across his mouth to which you sighed at with a laugh, shoving his chest playfully as a chuckle rumbled through his broad form.

“It went fine, my dear,” he murmured.

“W-what just fine?! C'mon G, I need details!”

“Well,” he glanced around the room smug as could be as you watched with a giddy excitement, “I suppose I have made a new friend.”

“W-what?!” you stammered, “Tell me, who?”

He laughed lightly, the sound so rare to hear from his throat as he leaned down towards you with his hands still behind his back and murmured, “Papyrus.”

You laughed, “Well good for you, G! That makes what.. your second friend, ever?”

He rolled his eyes, muttering as you gently touched the side of his face and beamed up to him, “Teasing.. That's good to hear. I'm proud of you.”

His undamaged brow slightly raised, his grin deepening.

 

***

 

Back in Toriel's apartment as the hours ticked by things were winding down into a game plan strategy surrounding the coffee table. Sans, Alphys and Toriel were on the couch while Papyrus, Jenny and Undyne sat on the floor. Asgore was in the love seat per usual but it had been moved to the other side of the room to allow the children to stand at the free side of the coffee table. Frisk and Asriel stood side by side, trying to direct the group but it seems as if they had ideas of their own. 

Undyne was, of course, leading the discourse, “I just don't like that creep,” she spat while hitting her hand into the table, “I say we just go get Sun and get her out of there.”

“she wont go,” Sans drawled, his eye sockets drooping deeply.

“MY BROTHER TRIED THAT PLAN ALREADY-” Papyrus tried but Undyne just cut him off.

“Yeah and he waS BROUGHT BACK HERE BY HIS FACE!”

Asriel snorted, stomping his foot as he folded his arms, “I was there the whole time except for the fight, and yeah he is kind of creepy-”

“You're not making my point kid,” Undyne sighed with irritation, folding her arms tightly across her chest as Asriel tried once more.

“He really isn't that bad, he's just really quiet,” the child explained, Frisk nodding beside him.

Asgore stroked his beard, deep in thought before he added in his words, “My son, by him returning your soul as you said that makes him more genuine in my eyes.”

Jenny had her turn to speak as she sat cross legged beside Undyne, “But let's not forget he did technically kidnap them.. and used her soul..”

Sans let his eyelids drop, likely dozing off as the conversation continued without him. Not even Undyne's brash voice could disturb the skeleton as she laughed and nodded, “Exactly! He could just be using some kind of gross mind control like what happened to Sans.”

Asgore shook his head slowly, “We certainly have an interesting situation on our hands..”

Asriel sighed as Frisk began to sign,  _ 'It's because he's a lich.' _

Papyrus scrunched his eye sockets as Undyne also gave a disgusted glance at the child, “Hey punk, liches are just in stories.”

Frisk shook their head, insisting with their hands,  _ 'Liches can control the undead, Sans is a skeleton. It makes sense.' _

“That's gross, kid,” Undyne muttered, her face still scrunched up, “That means he can control these two bone boys whenever he wants.”

Papyrus began to shake nervously, “BUT HE'S OUR FRIEND, FRIEND'S DONT CONTROL EACH OTHER'S BODIES!”

Undyne gave him a light slap on the arm, “That's what I'm saying, he isn't a friend!”

Frisk growled in frustration as Asriel sighed before speaking up, “He's my friend.”

The room looked at him as Frisk nodded and pointed to themselves, Toriel finally spoke up with her voice a tad raspy, “After everything that has happened, my child..?”

The goat child nodded and grinned widely, “He gave me-.. he gave me my life back when he easily could have kept me in that back pack.. Or killed me.”

Alphys sat nervously clicking her claws together as Asgore spoke, “There are still many things we don't know about this monster, we should be careful and proceed with caution. Papyrus, Undyne-” they turned to look at the King as he stood and sighed, “I need one of you to come with Sans and I, we will be meeting them within half an hour. We should take this chance to arrive early and go over our plans.” 

Frisk tried to sign but was blocked as Undyne jumped to her feet, “No way that I'm staying behind!”

Asriel had to cut in verbally for Frisk, “You can't be expecting a fight!”

“Of course we can, kid!” Undyne sneered, clenching her hand into a fist, “Always expect the unexpected!”

The two kids became quickly exasperated and spoke in tandem,  _ “Then we are coming too!” _

“Absolutely not,” Toriel scolded as Asgore stepped forward next to Undyne.

“Sans' magic is still drained, it's best if we try to not strain him any more than he already is. Besides, you children deserve a rest after everything that's happened.”

_ 'We aren't tired' _ Frisk signed, frowning.

“Yeah, you have to let us come with-!” The small goat let out a wavering bleat as Toriel snatched him up in her arms. His voice cracked while Toriel stepped to the side as Asgore and Undyne stepped around the coffee table, “H-hey!”

“C'mon Sans! Let's get there early so we can scope the place out!” Undyne snickered, punching a fist into her palm but the skeleton remained snoozing on the sofa.

The woman scrunched her face as Jenny giggled off to the side as she barked, “Sans!”

Papyrus did the honors by picking up his limp brother and carried him over to Asgore and Undyne. The warrior was completely and utterly confused as Jenny and Frisk broke out into hysterics. Papyrus gingerly placed the skeleton down on his feet to which he stood just fine but had his head hung with his hands still firmly in his pockets, his shoulders slowly drifted up and down as if he was still asleep.

“NYEH HEH MY LAZY BROTHER DOES THIS ALL THE TIME!” the skeleton announced, placing his hands on his hips as he grumbled while Asriel struggled in Toriel's arms. 

Frisk took the opportunity and ran past Papyrus to grip onto Sans' arm, scowling up at the group who had turned their gazes to them. With a sigh Undyne rubbed the back of her neck.

“Look, kid, it's just not smart to take you with us. You're better off here with these dweebs,” she waved her hand across the room as Alphys straightened up on the couch.

“Y-yeah.. w-we ca-can watch anime..?” she attempted, that just triggered Asriel as he dug his claws into his mothers dress.

“You and your dumb cartoons!” he hissed as Asgore stepped over to his family, lightly patting his son's head which made him bleat in frustration and headbutt his fathers snout.

He laughed, purely and genuinely, “Tori, did you see that..?”

She also giggled, fresh tears welling in her eyes as she held onto her frustrated billy goat. Asriel sat in total shock which devolved into anger, he wasn't used to being so adorable or getting so much affection. He should be feared! He contorted his face but it just made his cheeks puff up.

“I am not c-UTE!” his voice cracked, which sent the room into snickering as his eyes widened and ears drooped. His father gently nuzzled the back of his ear before Toriel nodded to Asgore and began to step down into the hallway towards Frisk's bedroom. Asriel knew what was happening as he flailed and grunted, “You can't do this- we have to come too!”

His frustrated bleating became muffled as Toriel whisked him away. The last man standing was Frisk as they tightened their grip on the skeleton's jacket while Asgore knelt down to the tiny child.

“Frisk, you know we can't have you coming with us.”

The child just narrowed their eyes, filled with Determination. 

 

Unfortunately, determination is not stronger than Time Out. 

Frisk sat next to Asriel on the bed, arms folded and a scowl over both of their faces.

“We knew it would end up like this, we're in the big house,” the goat grumbled as Frisk nodded. They could feel the little moths still nestled against their wrists as the adults spoke out in the living room, much too far away to hear properly. They tried, but were no match against everyone outside and their attempts to escape only ended in the door getting locked. The children pouted side by side, hoping that they had done a good enough job as mediators. Now all they could do was wait.

 

***

 

As the hours passed you became excruciatingly bored. Winding up laying on the floor of the lobby with your phone beside you playing music, you had counted the tiles in the ceiling a hundred times over. This was the most boring final confrontation ever. Nobody had tried to storm the lab, nobody had texted you and Gaster remained quiet about anything that was going on back at the apartment. You figured it was a good sign otherwise his demeanor would have slightly changed as he went about his research and formulated a proposal to challenge the political bill against magic. He had only spoke to you about it's details but to be honest you didn't really know much about the new law, just that it banned public displays of magic use. He seemed to be fine with that short answer.

While the scientist was interesting, he was also quite dull and monotonous. You were now used to his behavior, he didn't make your nervous or curious to try to figure him out as he was rather cut and dry. The only puzzle that remained was the one of leaving this place, figuring out how life would be back on the surface. You thought about what job you would try to get, what would happen with Gaster as he helped Alphys fight dirty politics with hard facts and you also thought about your relationship with Sans. He had tried to attack you, he was bullheaded and opinionated with Gaster. It bothered you. But you couldn't force him to get along with the scientist, there was bad blood there and it wasn't your place to stick your nose in it. 

Furrowing your brow you continued to glare up to the ceiling. Papyrus was so kind and gentle, of course he would hit it off with anybody but it surprised you to know that Gaster had even spoken to him. You exhaled slowly, baby steps. Baby steps for everyone. For Asriel and his family, for Sans, for you.. you smirked, for Jenny. You wondered what your friend had to say about the scientist, her perverted jokes would be nuts over the next few days after she would get you to spill the beans on what  _ truly _ happened down here. 

As you were thinking you heard the doctor quietly step into the room, a new dark lab coat draped across his shoulders as he walked over to you. Standing a few feet away he hummed but you didn't look at him. You were now a part of this floor. 

“What are you doing, my dear?”

You narrowed your eyes, an itch in the back of your head as you drawled, “Trying to understand something..”

He chuckled, “And what may that be..?”

“I'm not sure yet, I'm having a hard time.. grasping the concept..” you continued to glare at the ceiling as you patted the floor next to you.

The man gently stepped beside you and knelt down, raising his undamaged brow as you glanced over to him then back at the ceiling, “I still just.. don't quite get it.. Lay down.”

He snorted, a smirk pressing into his mouth as he stared at you for a moment. You just responded by patting the floor beside you, pretending to be looking at something super interesting on the ceiling, “Come on, right next to me.”

With a soft exhale he did as you said, you moved your arm so he could lay beside you with his hands behind his head and gazed up at the ceiling with a bent knee. He remained silent, humoring you for a few moments until you lightly gasped.

“Eureka!” you tilted your head to the side to look at him as he flicked his eyes towards you, “I suddenly know what passion is.” 

He couldn't help but roll his eyes as a chuckle rumbled in his chest at your smart assery. You couldn't help but to laugh beside him, you hadn't thought he would have indulged you but he did and as you settled down you looked back up to the ceiling and muttered, “Are you going to live on the surface, G?”

He hummed thoughtfully, “Would you like that, my dear?”

You nodded, “I don't think you should stay in the underground, everyone needs sunlight.. and the stars.”

He digested your words as you both laid there in comfortable silence to which you broke after a few minutes, “I think you'll find the surface.. interesting, G. A lot has changed through the years.. It's a crazy world but there are bits of beauty in it.”

You went on as he listened, “Like.. humans worship people they don't even know because they see them on television. People steal, lie and cheat each other. People kill each other over ideas, opinions.. resources. But.. When you walk down the street and feel the energy of the world around you, the sun on your skin.. you can't help but be happy to be a part of it, even if you're just a very small part of it.”

He suddenly smirked, you glanced over to him to find him studying the ceiling as he murmured, “I'm sure walking with humans would be.. interesting.”

You laughed lightly, imagining the expressions he would get, “Nobody would dare mess with you, G.”

“Mnn?” he purred, glancing over to you as you giggled.

“You'd just give em the smolder..” you turned to face him totally blank faced and slowly blinked, his smirk deepened as he chuckled. You couldn't hold the expression for very long before you burst into a fit of laughter.

You recovered from your bliss and added, “But seriously, G. You deserve to be on the surface.. I'm not sure how this is all going to play out but.. I'd like to visit you sometime if that's all right.”

“Of course, my dear,” he replied, “Who else would lie on the floor if not for you?”

“Damn right,” you chuckled.

A few more moments passed before the scientist exhaled slowly, you glanced over as he murmured, “We should be going, they have been waiting for us for awhile now.”

“Who is.. they?” you asked gently.

“Seems to be Sans, Undyne and the King.”

You nodded as he pulled himself up to a seated position which you then followed, stretching as you crossed your legs and looked over to him as he rested his elbow on his bent knee.

“You think they will want to fight..?” you murmured.

He didn't respond, seeming to be lost in thought but he eventually opened his jaws to speak, “The children were pushed into their bedroom before I could fully get a grasp on their plans. We should still be cautious..”

Nodding you looked to the floor, gripping onto your legs as you breathed slowly. Nervousness was nipping at your gut but you couldn't let it show, it was game time. The scientist then stood abruptly and you reached back for your phone, turning off the music player as you also pulled yourself to your feet and pocketed the device. Turning to face Gaster you took in a deep breath and let it out as he held his hands out for you, gently you stepped up to his chest and slid your fingertips across his and rimmed around the hole in his hands as his thumbs hooked over your wrists. 

“I'm ready for a party,” you smirked up to the scientist whom reflected your mischievous grin.

Just as he began to draw forth his magic you released his hands, “Wait..”

Lightly he blinked down at you, watching as you stood up on your tiptoes and grasped onto the lapels of his lab coat as a murmur swept through your lips, “Just in case I don't get another chance..”

The monster's grin deepened as he drew his arms around you and tilted his head down to meet you. His strong hands grasped to your back, pressing you against his chest as your soft lips met his mouth. With a light pant your mouth opened with his jaws, your tongue rolling deeply to his as your kiss met right in the middle. Your fingers clutched to his dark coat, feeling your soul flutter in a brilliant shining light while he stroked against you. Grinding your jawlines as your tongue slid across his, tracing the edge of the hole in his inky black tendril as your gut suddenly flipped and the world around you went black.

 


	31. Let the Games Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans isn't too happy about your new friend, the Lich.  
> A silent challenge strikes between the two.

Sans sighed as the trio stood in the field, his eyes rolling lazily across the swaying grass as Undyne did a sweep of the clearing. She was so serious about her duties to the king as Asgore glanced down to the small skeleton before speaking.

“Is there anything we should be expecting, Sans?” the skeleton flicked his white pupils up to the large monster, shrugging as the king went on, “You would know more than we would about this creature, I know you are still rather tired but if there's something we should be worried about don't hesitate to tell us.”

The skeleton simply just glanced back across the field, the light breeze billowing through his jacket and wound through his aching bones as he stood there, “nah.”

The king simply nodded and looked back across the clearing as Undyne jogged her way back over, the tall grass slipping past her legs as she padded to a stop with sweat glistening over her muscular, slightly scarred body. Her long red hair swayed lightly in the breeze as she took a breath and shook her head, “Nothing unusual. But this is a good place to meet,” she grinned, placing her hands on her hips as she turned to look back over the field, “No places to hide. The ground is pretty level too if it comes to it.”

The king nodded deeply, “Hopefully it will not come to that.”

A ripple of magic nudged against the skeleton's soul as he suddenly looked up to the mountain side, an odd feeling gnawing at him just as a large black shape formed in the middle of the clearing just fifty yards away. His sockets went wide and dark. Undyne had begun to snarl but it dropped as her shoulders slumped and Asgore merely pulled a hand up to stroke his beard thoughtfully. 

 

The light breeze, the fresh smell and the warm sun brought your eyes to open as you gently broke the kiss with the scientist. The sounds of grass swaying around you, the wind softly tangling in your hair and against your skin overwhelmed you at first. You stood, staring at Gaster's chest as he pulled his shoulders back and lifted his head to look over the top of you. Ever so slowly you turned your head to either side and looked down at the long blades of grass tickling at your legs, you were outside. It felt as if it had been months. One of your hands left Gaster's coat to press against your lips at you watched the grass bend and sway around the both of you but that peace and tranquility was broken as a gruff, obnoxious voice screamed from just behind you.

“Sun, what  _ thE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!? _ ”

You felt your brain shatter. Gaster's hands lightly released you as you turned in his grasp to look over your shoulder and quickly spun all the way around to see Undyne, Asgore and Sans all staring at you agape. If you could die from cringing you would have, right then and there. You jerked your head up to look at the scientist but he was busy locking gazes with the king as you hissed at him from under your breath, “ _ areyoufuckingkiddingme? _ ”

Flushed, embarrassed and feeling beyond awkward you stepped a few feet in front of Gaster and waved your hand lightly to Undyne as you projected your voice across the swaying grass, “H-hey, Undyne! I'm all right, sorry for not coming back with Frisk and Asriel..”

You watched as her gaze fell to your shoulder where your bite mark was peaking up along the side of your neck delicately, Asgore also noticed this as the two made a few strides forward to close the distance. Sans stood far back, still in mild shock. Gaster tucked his hands behind his back as he watched the two approach, the marks on your skin beginning to itch.

As the two stood across from you, only fifteen feet of grass between you and them, Asgore lifted his head and looked down to you, “Sun.. has this monster marked you?”

Swallowing dryly you had no choice but to nod but as your hand went up to your neck Gaster's tender claws beat you to it. He brushed across your throat as he moved your hair away from your neck and with his thumb he pushed down the collar of your shirt lightly to show off the bite a tad further. Your skin felt hot as you looked away from their glances. Undyne ground her teeth together and snarled as she summoned a spear within her grasp and stood at the ready while Asgore looked sad. The scientist slowly let his hand fall back behind him as the king spoke.

“This kind of magic.. you know it's forbidden,” the king said, staring right at Gaster as he gazed back with a blank expression.

“It's all right-” you tried but were cut off by Undyne pointing at you and sneered lowly.

“It's not okay, it's really..  _ really _ not.”

Asgore went forth more delicately as you looked up to him, “This magic is powerful, it is dark.. and it can affect your soul-” the king's gaze flicked up into the scientist's and they begun their staring contest, “Not just any monster can place a mark like that. A stake of ownership over another living creature is immoral.” 

Gaster said nothing, he expressed nothing and you knew you were on your own trying to talk about this. 

Quickly you replied, “I'm not familiar with your customs or magic.. But it helps me understand him, otherwise I have no idea what he is saying.”

“So he fucking _ marked _ you over that?” Undyne seethed, jamming the end of her spear into the dirt at her feet as Sans watched with half lidded eyes clear back from the four of you.

Asgore sighed, his eyes narrowing to the scientist as he spoke, “The reason this practice has been banned is because magic sharing can ultimately bleed it's victim dry of energy.”

Your heart thudded at that.

“Punk, he's just slowly absorbing your soul until all of it is consumed!” the woman jerked her spear out of the ground with a cloud of dirt and debris kicking up around your feet but a dozen disembodied hands materialized around the both of you in defense. She reeled back and scowled in aggravation while Asgore held his ground and spoke, “What else could a monster benefit from attaching to another's soul? Especially to a humans.”

You could feel the tension rising in the air and thought it best to try to settle them down in the quickest way possible, “He has had plenty of opportunities to take my soul or kill me. He's just innately curious-”

“That's no excuse!” the fish monster stomped her foot on the ground, edging closer to the both of you as the disembodied hands lightly began to twitch their digits against the tension in the air surrounding you.

“I feel this monster behind you is influencing your mind through your soul,” Asgore stated, the heaviness of his words weighing down on you as your eyes went wide. 

“Yeah like some sick sexual pervert-!” Undyne edged closer, the skeletal hands in the hair twitched their digits harder as she stepped forward with her readied spear.

“No, it's not like that!” you tried, exasperated. He just  _ had _ to be dominate and show off how you were truly his in front of everyone, what a jack ass, “G and I..-”

“ _ 'G' _ ..? Oh no, Sun, no you don't get what he's doing to you-” Undyne tried but you snapped at her, your soul flashing as you growled.

“I'm not stupid and I'm not being manipulated or controlled! Look, I know Gaster is really intimidating but he is not malicious,” you explained, watching Undyne's face twist into a scowl as you brought a hand up to touch your neck, “I don't mind sharing my energy with him-”

Asgore opened his jaws but you glared at him, with Gaster hovering behind you it only gave you a deep sense of Justice. You wouldn't let him get punished for something you had actually come to enjoy.. the sex, the atmosphere and the moments you shared with the doctor were real. The marks upon your skin tingled as you removed your hand and showed them your damaged palm to which they both blinked at causing Asgore to lose his staring match with the scientist.

“He healed me, he protected me.. He's brilliant and I know that he deserves to be living on the surface. I won't let you guys hurt him, especially after he saved Asriel.”

Asgore sighed through his nostrils, deep in thought as Undyne spoke up with her shoulders beginning to droop, “So.. you.. uh..?” her gaze went up to Gaster, his white eyes quickly met hers as she scrunched her face in disgust.

You didn't want to answer that personal question and instead only flushed further as you dropped your hand and changed the subject, “He's a little intense because he's pre-war-”

“Is that where I remember you from..?” the king spoke, bringing his gaze back up to the scientist while the skeletal hands remained floating around the both of your protectively.

Gaster remained silent but you nodded, “Probably, it's why he's.. on edge a lot..” you motioned to the hands surrounding you both and glanced to Undyne and pointed to her spear. She blinked wildly and slowly let go of it, causing the energy to shatter and disperse over the grass. You let out a deep exhale, your muscles relaxing as you managed to get her to settle down.

You glanced over your shoulder to the doctor, blinking up into his eyes even though he refused to look at you as you softly spoke up, “G.. put 'em away.”

He remained motionless, his eyes slipping over to the side to watch Sans slowly approach the group now. You lightly nudged into his ribs with your elbow and huffed, the man remained still but the hands dissipated. Sighing you looked back to the two in front of you, not being able to see Sans as Asgore blocked your vision.

“Whatever is between myself and him is.. private. But he deserves a chance. He has so much data that is invaluable to monster politics, you can't just condemn him.”

Asgore thought for a moment as Undyne looked to him with worry, “Are you really contemplating on letting this guy go?”

The king gently turned towards the monster, placing his hand on her shoulder as he walked her away from the two of you and began to speak to her quietly, you hoped it was a good thing. As they left you spotted Sans standing in their place and blinked rapidly. He looked so tired yet maintained his neutral half lidded expression. He didn't look hurt, he looked exhausted yet finally calm. 

“Sans.. are you okay?” you murmured, taking a step forward as his eyes bounced up to Gaster.

“.. can we.. talk in private?” he responded, looking back at you as the black markings upon your skin began to itch. 

There was only so much privacy you could get, Gaster's magic was well integrated with your soul but you nodded anyhow and stepped off to the side with the skeleton to leave Gaster standing there by himself but his eye sockets slightly narrowed as he watched the two of you face towards each other and began talking.

Sans was the first one to speak as your back was to the scientist, “listen.. about what happened..” he pulled his shoulders up to his jaws and then dropped them as he sighed, “i screwed up.”

You bit your lip and nodded, “You.. actually attacked me.”

“it wasn't supposed to happen like that,” he replied, “it was supposed to-”

“Drive Gaster away from me.. I know.. If you would have just listened to me-”

“it wouldn't have happened.. yeah,” his eyes dimmed as he saw past your shoulder and saw the scientist's light glare.

“Sans..” you spoke gently, bringing his attention back to you as you gripped onto your bicep, “I know why you did it.. You were doing what you thought was right. It came from a good place.. But G-”

“he still marked you, kid,” Sans cut in, “what was I supposed to think..? it's dark magic.”

“You could have just listened to me..” you couldn't help but begin furrow your brow, “I don't care about the marks. It let's me talk to him, the only monster who has actually told me about souls and how all of this stuff even works.”

“i could have..if you asked me..” your expression dropped as you watched the skeleton, your heart panging with guilt.

“I want us to be friends, Sans. I don't want this experience to make things hard, or nonexistent,” you bit at your lip for a moment before continuing, “You were there for me, you saved me from Robert and Flowey.. you wanted to just keep us safe. I don't hold anything,  _ any of it _ , against you.”

The skeleton's smile tugged a bit, “..really?”

A light smile crossed your lips as you nodded, “You were listening to your gut, just like what Frisk and I did. I just want everything to be okay.. I want everything to go back to normal-”

“it can't, kid,” he murmured, noticing Asgore and Undyne speaking with Gaster who was lightly signing in American sign language so the king could understand him. 

Following his gaze over your shoulder you spotted Gaster, he flicked his gaze to you briefly before going back towards the king. You felt something squirm along your soul, your marks starting to itch badly enough you had to place a hand on your shoulder to try abating the sensation as you looked back to Sans as he spoke, “so..you and..  _ him _ , eh?”

Your soul gave a dim flicker, “Oh.. Sans, you saw that..?”

His expression was dull, the corners of his mouth twitching as you went on, “It's nothing serious-”

“looked pretty serious to me.. grabbin' him like that..”

“He was bringing me here and it just sort of.. happened, okay?” you fibbed, trying to spare his feelings but he knew better than that. 

“guess if I knew how to mark it wouldn't have been a problem, huh..?”

“Sans- Ugh,” you sighed, calming yourself down as you took in a long breath and let it out slowly, “I didn't ask for it. But it's there now and I don't regret it because I can't talk to a new friend without it being there. Please don't let this destroy our friendship.. is it really worth that..?”

The skeleton glanced away from you to the field of grass on the right, a silence fell over the both of you as he sighed and shook his head. You took a few steps forward, causing him to look back at you just as you wrapped your arms around him and smiled, murmuring into the soft fur lining the hood of his jacket.

“I did miss you, Sans. I appreciate that you never stopped looking for me.. Thank you.”

Ever so slowly the skeleton brought his hands up and wrapped his arms around your back, “heh.. no problem, kid..” his eyelids drooped as he stared into space. Completely missing the ever so slight twitch of Gaster's undamaged socket as he peered at the both of you from the corner of his eye as Asgore spoke to him. 

You let go a little sooner than you would have liked, your hand reaching up to your neck and shoulder to scratch at the bite mark resting on your skin. The little black marks were twitching and it irritated you but you kept a smile as you spoke to the skeleton, “Are we.. friends?”

Sans let out a slight exhale, relaxing his shoulders back as he gave a gentle nod, “yeah.”

It wasn't much, but it was a start. You both were still upset with one another but there was only one way to work through that.. with equal effort. You were willing, as was he. Sans watched you turn to walk back towards the main group, his thoughts trickling through. He knew deep down he was also willing to still be there and still be a friend and even though Gaster may have laid down his claim.. the fight wasn't over. Sans began to trail on over behind you, noticing the scientist look straight through the girl and to him, he's seen that look before.. threatening. Sans just widened his smile, ever so slightly narrowing his sockets as you stood next to Gaster and looked to Asgore and Undyne oblivious to the call of war between the two men. 

Undyne seemed slightly irritated but she kept her mouth shut as she leaned her weight on one hip while Asgore spoke up, “We have decided that if WD Gaster will help in our political effort, works with our research team and respects human law then he will be pardoned.”

Your soul fluttered, smiling as Asgore went on, “This is a rare exception.. staking magical claim is a rather serious offense, you must remember this in your daily life. There will be those who will highly disapprove, it makes it worse that you are a human as your soul is powerful enough to greatly increase the magical abilities of this monster.”

You nodded, folding your arms awkwardly as you listened respectfully, “The tie of your soul is not symbiotic, if you were to fall ill it would only burden you further where as he would absorb your energy to heal faster.”

Chewing at the inside of your cheek you nodded, you weren't going to interrupt him with the fact that you somehow  _ had _ used his magic back in the lab to contact Frisk. Not to mention that you could also understand any language spoken with hands and not just Gaster's specific warbling native tongue. Though.. it wasn't as if you could prove being able to use his magic as you weren't even sure yourself. Undyne let loose a sigh, placing her hands on her hips as she eyed you with a hint of disappointment.

“If it becomes an issue of life or death, punk, we won't hesitate to remove it,” she stated.

The marks twinged deeply against your skin, the scientist doing a good job of remaining emotionless on the outside but his irritation always seemed to lace through his magic. Asgore added to that as he watched your uneasy expression.

“I understand your discomfort but you must understand if it would give you the chance to survive we will do everything we can for you.”

Gaster's heavy rumbling broke the silence and made Undyne flinch, he refused to even sign as he spoke,  _ “You would do best to not touch what is  _ _ **mine** _ _ , you half witted cowardly excuse for a monarch.” _

The marks upon your skin twitched deeply, causing the muscle in the side of your neck to flick at the sensation and you tried to ignore it but it still crept onto your face as you squinted a tad.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Undyne growled, her fingers eager to summon a spear as she planted her feet firmly to the ground. 

You quickly cut in, “H-he said that it's reasonable.”

You felt the marks sting upon your skin as Sans stared up past you and to the scientist whom had his undamaged socket lightly narrowing towards Asgore. The skeleton kept quiet. The king didn't necessarily believe your translation, his brows rising as his eyelids lightly dropped. He met the scientist's possessive stare with a flick of his eyes and without saying a word the king turned to look back at you as Undyne remained tense.

“I'm glad you agree with us, Sun,” the king spoke gently, he had seen right through your cover up. You could feel a writhing against your soul while your neck still lightly twitched. You didn't know for sure if they understood why you were making that face but regardless Asgore looked back to the scientist.

“The next thing we discussed is going over this supposed research you have, if it is indeed valuable I want you to assist Alphys and work directly for all of monster kind. You have served them all before, which is undoubtedly honorable, but they still need us to protect them.”

Undyne didn't like what was about to come next, she huffed with irritation as she folded her arms tightly across her chest and glared at Sans. He was being all too passive for her tastes. The skeleton just shrugged as Asgore looked to you, “I feel it is best you show me this data first hand, alone.”

“Asgore-” Undyne growled but he lifted a hand to silence her.

“This will show me all I need to know before you are pardoned,” he explained. 

You nervously shifted your weight onto your other leg, glancing up at Gaster as he softened his expression back into an utterly blank slate. Your marks continued to itch as he simply, and slowly, nodded in agreement.

The king continued with his gentle orders, “Sans you will take these two back home, I assume we will meet you there to finalize proper instruction with Doctor Alphys and iron out the details if all is well.”

“..sure thing boss,” Sans nodded, you could tell he was still so tired yet he still lightly grabbed onto your arm to which Gaster shot his gaze over towards, the marks on your skin causing the muscle spasms to pull uncomfortably at your neck. You looked up to the scientist and smiled softly, trying to get him to relax but it didn't work. 

Undyne spoke as she stepped around the king and to Sans, grabbing onto his jacket at his shoulder tightly, “If you aren't back within a few hours I'm coming looking for you.”

Asgore lightly chuckled, his eyes softening as he looked at Undyne, “There will be no need. You may leave, Sans.”

Blinking wildly you turned your face towards Gaster to see his socket narrow before the beautiful field surrounding you was ripped away. 

You were left gasping and dizzy as you all landed awkwardly on the sidewalk, you tried to get a grasp on your new bearings but they were soon ripped from you again, and again. It took four jumps for Sans to finally land you all back inside of Toriel's apartment. You felt like you were going to puke as you swayed and rapidly blinked your eyes, your legs were shaking and your heart thudded in your ears just as you fell back into the hardened ribs of Papyrus who gripped onto your biceps from behind to steady you.

“HUMAN SUN! NYEH HEH I KNEW ALL WOULD BE WELL! WAIT. WHERE'S KING FLUFFYBUNS?” the lanky skeleton asked as you tried to get a grip on your surroundings but vertigo made your eyes close, lightly shaking as the blood rushed back into your head. 

Undyne was also dizzy as she had her eyes closed, legs gently trembling and leaned against the wall with her head drooped, “He went to go check out that weirdo's lab-”

You felt soft hands on your face, Jenny's voice breaking through Undynes, “Hey.. Hey girly.. oh my god are you okay..?”

“Jus.. Really dizz-y..” you slurred, the black out slowly began to fade from your trembling legs as Papyrus kept you standing, his bony fingers firm, cold yet delicate on your soft skin.

Sans had beads of sweat building on his skull as his head dipped forward, his eyes closing while his breathing deepened. You heard Toriel's soft, motherly voice behind Jenny who still had her hand on your cheek.

“My child.. are you all right?” she murmured.

You wouldn't lie, you felt like you were suffocating from everyone standing so close. The marks on your skin stinging painfully as you groaned and reached up for your shoulder, flicking open your eyes you found both Toriel and Jenny blocking your fuzzy vision as they stared down to the side of your neck.

“I-i'm fine..” you murmured, gaining your balance back as the haze faded from your view. Shaking your head Undyne groaned and pushed herself away from the wall, muttering.

“Sans has to take multiple jumps because it's too far otherwise,” she explained while rubbing at her face deeply. 

Papyrus' voice vibrated through his rib cage, tickling your back and causing the bite mark to sink further into your flesh, you gasped as he spoke, “MY BROTHER MAY SEEM QUITE LAZY BUT MULTIPLE JUMPS LIKE THAT COST A LOT OF ENERGY! IF HE WERE IN BETTER SHAPE HE WOULDN'T BE FALLING ASLEEP WHILE STANDING.” 

Wincing your fingertips dug into the bite marks upon your neck, muttering between your teeth,  _ 'jesus christ, G..' _ you weren't sure if his magic was from his own irritation with the king or his possessive nature with having so many people crowding around you. Gently you took a step forward and brushed Papyrus' hands off to which he took a few steps back and the others followed suit. Jenny's hand slid away from your face as you smiled to her. Toriel was still locked onto your markings as you spoke.

“How's it goin'..?” you attempted sheepishly, letting your hand slip away from your settling marks.

Jenny gasped, punching your arm, “Are you kidding me!? We've been worried sick about you, you  _ bitch _ !” she exclaimed, a wavering tickling through her words as tears pricked at her eyes. You sighed and smiled softly as you stepped forward and you two embraced, her back lightly trembling as she clutched to you. The black marks upon your skin eased up on their sting to gentle throb as you held onto your silently crying friend.

Rubbing her back gently you murmured, “I know, Jen..”

You heard a banging at the back of the hall and jumped at it as Jenny eased her grip on you and took a step back, wiping at her eyes and sniffling as Asriel's splitting voice bayed behind the bedroom door, “Let us out of here! What's going on!?”

You looked down to the hallway, seeing Frisk's door closed and presumably locked. Well, you smiled, they really had tried to cause trouble. Toriel shook her head and sighed, she would have a lot of behavioral discipline to deal with as Asriel was clearly not used to being a child. Papyrus cackled, “SHALL I RELEASE THE PRISONERS, QUEEN TORIEL?”

She sighed, looking over to Papyrus with a tired smile and nodded just as he bolted down the hallway. You turned your attention to Toriel as she cleared her throat and gently stood up beside Jenny, motioning with her claws to your neck, “My child.. what did he do to you..?”

The kids must not have told them about the marks, you bit into your cheek just as the wild scrambling of feet rushed into the living room and collided with your legs as the rugrats clung to you. You felt you had to tell your goat mother what had happened, sighing you brought the hand back up to your hair and pushed back the curtain to show the half covered bite that ran up your neck. The other part of it was covered by your t-shirt, you let your hand fall back to your side as they looked you over.

Before you were about to speak Undyne growled, “He fucking marked her is what happened.”

Jenny's eyes widened as she looked at the marks, murmuring, “He.. is that.. are those bite marks?”

Toriel pulled her hand to her lips and gently shook her head as you jumped in with a heavy sigh, “They're scars-”

“From a bite wound-” Undyne snarled as she stepped around the dozing skeleton to bear down on you. Alphys slipped off of the couch and waddled her way over to the crowd, adjusting her glasses as she filled the gap between Jenny and Undyne. 

“A-are yo-you s-ser-serious?” she stammered, gazing up to you as you turned your attention towards her. You felt sweat build up on the back of your neck, feeling rather awkward and embarrassed as you flashed back to that day where he held your naked body against him. His fangs sinking into your flesh. Your heart gave a flutter at the memory, it was a painful memory.. but yet you felt a hot pleasure wash through your gut.

Toriel cut through your thoughts, “We should have Alphys remove it..”

Blinking wildly you shook your head as Asriel turned his attention to glare up at the crowd just as Papyrus skipped up on the other side of Toriel. You were all now standing in a circle with Sans on the outside of it just behind Undyne, lightly snoring. You could barely hear him though as Papyrus joined the conversation.

“I DON'T THINK HE WOULD LIKE THAT-”

“Who gives a shit what he would like or not like?” Undyne snarled, balling her hands into fists as your markings began to burn, “It's not right!”

“I-it's re-really dan-dangerous to r-remove magic..” Alphys stammered, fiddling her claws together nervously.

Frisk let go of your leg to angrily sign up to the warrior but she wasn't paying attention, Asriel was forced to speak up, his voice cracking as he raised it, “All you guys are doing is pissing him off!”

They all froze, slowly turning their gaze down to the little goat who had a deep scowl across his face.

Toriel gently went to her knees, eye level with her son, “What do you mean..?”

Nervously he began to fidget with his sleeve, you knew the moth beneath it must have been bothering or even possibly biting him just as Gaster's magic bit into you from his enhanced irritation.

“J-just..” he stammered, knowing he shouldn't have said anything but you quickly covered for him.

“I'm just a little bit.. stressed out from all of this you guys,” you confessed, sighing as you looked over the group, “G can feel and read my soul because of this mark, when he gets bothered by something it.. feels funny,” you tried to explain, not wanting to tell them it actually had been hurting.

“All the more reason to remove it,” Undyne snorted, leaning slightly forward as you shook your head.

“Undyne, I know you want to protect me.. but I really don't mind-” Toriel tried to speak but Asriel huffed and folded his arms so she wouldn't interrupt, “Asgore explained why it's bad, I acknowledge those risks. But I like being able to understand Frisk, his magic gives me the ability to understand sign language.”

Jenny pipped up curiously, “And you can understand whatever he is saying too..?”

You nodded, exhaling as you relaxed your muscles. He must have spoken at some point to them, that was good, it means they would understand you better.. hopefully, “Yeah.. I promise you he really isn't  _ that _ scary..”

Jenny snorted, folding her arms now too, “I'm not so sure about that, girlie..”

“NONESENSE! HE IS OUR FRIEND, EVEN THOUGH HE IS REALLY WEIRD.. BUT WE ALL ARE A LITTLE WEIRD.” he snickered, resting his hand on his jawline as Undyne growled.

“Not like ..  _ murdery _ weird!” She snarled but Frisk just drew their lips into their cheek and tapped their foot on the ground, the warrior noticed and instantly drew a hand to the back of her head sheepishly.

Toriel stood back up straight and smiled with a soft sigh, “All right, my child. Come and sit down, I'll get you some pie and you can tell us what happened.. and who this monster is.”

With that the group spread back out across the room, Papyrus lifted the sleeping Sans by grasping under his arms and hoisted him to the love seat and sat him in it. The skeleton didn't even stir as he sat in the chair, hands in his pockets and head lulled down to the side. You eyed him gently with a smile as you stepped to the couch and sat in the middle with Jenny on one side and Alphys on the other. Papyrus plopped down on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table with Undyne. Frisk and Asriel took the free side. 

Jenny lightly grabbed your leg and smiled to you with reassurance as Toriel pulled out some plates and put some tea on the stove, you drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly as you looked over the room. Glancing over your friends concerned, excited faces and with your smile hitching a little higher you went into detail starting from the very beginning with Oliver the moth. You weren't going to indulge the entire room with your sexcapades with the scientist but you did tell them everything else, the grey door, the room, the lab, Robert.. Sans' fight.. nothing was spared and as the hours ticked on you ate butterscotch pie, drank golden flower tea and told your tale as you remembered it. If anyone could paint a picture of the scientist, surely you could. 

 

As the day wound down Toriel received a call from Asgore, he explained that the scientist was pardoned but they had a lot of work to do to expand and relocate the lab Alphys had been working on while being on the surface. He was helping Gaster instruct and get everything in order as he had already lined up a hearing to appeal the law with the help of the vast amount of research the scientist was willing to release. They probably wouldn't be back for a few weeks and you couldn't help but frown as you heard that, quickly covering it up by taking a drink of tea and answered Undyne's probing questions of how the scientist fought. You couldn't help but to laugh at how much she was getting into it and even Papyrus enjoyed hearing the tactics used. Sans remained passed out for the rest of the night, not even moving as you basked in your friends company back on the surface.

 

Weeks had passed. Your marks would twitch, itch or burn on occasion but you heard nothing from the scientist.

Frisk and the queen had managed to suspend the bill against magic as the king and Gaster worked with Alphys to completely repeal the law and replace it with their own guidelines specified to monsters. You had tried getting a new job but either you forgot to fully cover your neck or extended the wrong hand.. the one with the deep inky tattoo across the palm. You had tried to laugh it off as you cut yourself on a can of black paint but most places hated tattoos, you were getting frustrated at this point but it allowed you to spend time more with the monsters. Undyne had gotten you all into the rhythm of going to the park to run around, get some exercise and blow off steam. Alphys, Sans and Toriel normally just sat and watched you all play around but today Sans was getting in on the game of Frisbee. He was finally starting to loosen up around you again.

You were just in a sports bra with your hair tied back into a ponytail and baggy sweats that gripped at your ankles as you ran around the field. You didn't care about the attention your mark would get as you played around with the others, this was a time just for you and you displayed yourself as you wanted. It was guys versus girls plus Frisk. You, Undyne and Frisk against Sans, Papyrus and Asriel. Your body had hardened, toned and slimmed down over the past few weeks of this activity, you owed it to Undyne for helping get you out of the apartment and today was no different. You were twenty minutes into the game already, Papyrus had intercepted your throw and Undyne wasn't having it. She rushed for Papyrus who simply flicked the Frisbee towards Sans who lazily reached a hand up and caught it, without much of a second thought he flicked his wrist to send the disc spinning down the field towards Asriel but Frisk jumped up in front of him and nabbed the blue frisbee in the nick of time.

You let out a laugh as you ran down the field in the opposite direction, trying to coordinate a score against the other team at the end of the clearing. Sans and you both burst past each other to try getting to an optimal position in the renovated clearing. 

Undyne shouted, “YEAH! DOWN HERE, FRISK!” 

Papyrus merely cackled and lifted his arms above Undyne, he was quite good at blocking her so Frisk twisted and threw the disk down towards you. Scowling with determination you locked onto it and just as you jumped for it Sans flicked into existence, nabbing the disk with a sly smirk divoting his canines right in front of you while he sailed past you in the air. 

“Oh, it's on bone boy!” you laughed as he flew past you and tumbled back to the ground, he booked it away from you with his jacket open and loose around his rib cage.

“sorry I can't understand chumps,” he tossed back at you as he spun around and flung the disk back towards his brother.

With a grunt you jumped for it, nicking the underside of the disk. You expected it to falter but it instead thrummed with magical energy before shooting off clear across the field and over the top of Frisk's head towards Papyrus. Undyne burst across the grass, sweat glistening against her blue flesh as she threw her arm upwards and shot a glowing spear from the ground that knocked the frisbee right out of Papyrus' awaiting hands for the disk to flip, roll and tumble down into Undynes webbed grip. She let out a loud cackle as she ran from behind him and towards you.

“Two can play that way, Ngggyaaahhh!!!”

“BRILLIANT, UNDYNE! BUT NOT AS BRILLIANT AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS, NYEH HEH HEH!” The lanky skeleton booked it diagonally away from the warrior, summoning a tiny row of blue bones that she just skillfully jumped over before she kicked her leg into the air and twisted her body with the momentum before flinging the disk back towards you. The sweat on your skin cooled your flushed body as you propelled yourself forward, matching the skeleton beside you as the disk sailed for the both of you. The two of you glanced towards each other, flashing a matching pair of competitive glares before you both leapt for the frisbee, your arm just so happened to be longer than his and it hit your palm with a stinging, yet satisfying thud.

Sans lunged for you just as you spun and threw the disk over his head and towards the awaiting Frisk further down the field towards your goal, they back pedaled as Undyne and Papyrus gained ground on the children but Asriel jumped up onto Frisk's shoulders and sent them both to the ground in a fit of laughter. 

You stood panting with the skeleton, large smiles on your face as you cupped your hand to your mouth and shouted as the frisbee sailed over their heads and to the tree line, “COME ON UNDYNE, YOU CAN OUT RUN HIM!”

Sans laughed, jogging forward before he suddenly vanished. Your eyes narrowed as you bolted forward towards the frisbee, angling yourself to be ready for Undyne to throw you the disk if she managed to catch it otherwise she would be in a good position to intercept the disk. Sans appeared right beneath the disk and caught it easily as it drifted to the ground but his eye sockets widened as the two monsters gained on him, with a flash of blue from his left eye he pulled his arm across his chest and flung it outward to sent the disk shooting out towards Papyrus. Undyne grabbed for it but it suddenly lurched upwards for Papyrus to jump and catch it. 

Damn it! That cheater, you panted heavily as you slowed to a jog and re-positioned yourself in the other direction. Frisk and Asriel were too busy wrestling to be of any use to the teams now. Papyrus cackled gleefully as he backed away from Undyne, Sans jogged back into the middle of the field as his brother sent the disc spinning back towards him in a high arch. The warrior let loose a snarl as she jumped from the ground, summoning a spear in her hand and jabbed it up into the sky to knock the disc off it's course and it fumbled down into the woman's awaiting grasp. She released the spear, the weapon shattering to blue specks of light as she cried out and twisted her body in mid air, “Come on, Sun! YOU GOT THIS!” 

While still falling back to the ground she tightened her core and spun her hips to add momentum to her throw, sending the disc flying back out to you. Your heart jolted as it flew right to you with great speed but you only smirked, rushing forward towards the lowering disc just as Sans kicked off of the ground and sent a small cloud of grass into the air. He was gaining rapidly on you but you wouldn't let him win. With a growl you pushed off of the ground and reached for the battered disc, it landed firmly in your hands as you turned away from the skeleton who only grasped at the empty air. Laughing wildly you waved the disc and sprinted down the field towards the brother's goal and passed the disc to Undyne as you both stormed across the grass. Sans turned and smiled through his panting as he watched you two go. He pocketed his hands in his loose jacket as Papyrus attempted to jump for the spinning disc but was instead cut off once again by the faster Undyne. You and Undyne hooted and hollered as you both ran down the field, passing it back and forth as Papyrus glared to his older brother with hands in the air as he cried, “SANS YOU LAZY BONES, YOU CAN'T GIVE UP YET!!”

Sans just shrugged, beads of sweat trickling down his bones as he watched you and Undyne make it across the field to score a point and with a war cry you high fived each other. You burst into a fit of laughter with the warrior, both of you absolutely drenched in sweat but you felt lighter than ever. You took the disc from Undyne just as Asriel and Frisk ran back into the center of the field, making grabby hands at you so you shrugged and sent the disc spinning towards Frisk who ran backwards to try to catch it. 

You laughed as you jogged back into the field with Undyne by your side, “Looks like Sans called it quits on you, Papyrus!” you shouted.

Undyne cackled as you both passed by where Toriel and Alphys were watching you from the shade of a large tree. The gazebo in the background as you trotted into the middle of the clearing as Frisk caught the disc and ran away laughing from both Papyrus and Asriel as the skeleton cried out, “SANS YOU ARE LETTING THE ENEMY WIN! NYEH!”

Undyne lurched forward to flank the two boys while you remained where you were, lightly bouncing in place as Frisk decided to send the disc to you. With a grin you jumped up to grab it but your eyes widened as it clacked loudly into a disembodied, bony hand. You met the ground, knees lightly bending and panting as the hand slowly lowered and offered you the disc, you took it while blinking rapidly and as you looked up you found everyone staring past you. Undyne was heaving with sweat dripping down her form but Frisk just pulled up their arm and waved.

Your soul beat rapidly as you spun around and saw both the king and Gaster standing there next to the uneasy Toriel and Alphys. He was just in a simple grey turtle neck yet the sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, the black scars upon his white skin shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight. He wore a bored expression as he tucked his hands into his black slacks but you just sent the disc flying behind you before running towards him. As you closed the distance a slight smirk pulled at his mouth. Undyne caught the disc without hardly even moving as she set her knuckles on the sides of her hips and watched as you jumped forward and wrapped your arms around the scientist's torso.

You panted heavily against his soft sweater, his arms lightly wrapping around you in a gentle form of affection before quickly dropping as you stepped back, “Hey, G! What are you doing here?” you breathed, clearly winded and flushing with loose strands of your hair sticking to your neck.

He gazed carefully down to you, the marks on your neck tingling as he gently pressed a clawed digit above your eyebrow and pressed a strand of hair from your face carefully, “Preparations are finally complete, my dear. Tomorrow we will be addressing this bill with our own.”

You grinned, trying to gain control of your breathing as you set your wrist against your forehead to wipe away the sweat and nodded as he added, “You will be my translator.”

Your eyes widened, locking onto his gaze as he peered down at you curiously. Asgore carefully moved to kneel beside Toriel and fill her in on what was happening just as Gaster spoke specifically just to you. 

You swallowed and let out a pant, “M-me? Why me?”

“Having a child translate for me is ridiculous,” he murmured, meaning Frisk. His claw traced down to your jaw just as Sans appeared beside you. You jumped and sighed as the sweaty skeleton gazed up at the scientist. Gaster carefully removed his hand from your face and set it back inside of his pocket who met the skeleton with a bored expression.

“But I don't know how to behave on national television!” you stammered, glancing over to Sans who flicked his white eyes towards you.

The skeleton murmured quietly, “let me guess, you gotta go to the meeting, eh?”

You nodded, sighing, “Why don't you just translate for him, Sans?”

Both Gaster and Sans locked eyes once more, that was clearly a 'No' from them. Sighing you laughed lightly and shook your head, “Okay.. okay.. I understand. I think I've got something to wear for it, failed enough interviews to know what to wear.”

You mainly spoke to yourself as you looked back up to Gaster who was still staring at the skeleton beside you, his expression completely blank. You lightly shoved into his chest and left your palm on his soft shirt, “Cut it out-,” you threw your gaze over your shoulder to sans, “-both of you guys.”

Gaster gave a soft exhale while Sans shrugged and broke the glare to look at you before speaking, “we ain't doin' nothing..”

You narrowed your eyes playfully at Sans, it helped him ease his shoulders as he watched your eyes. He was finally being able to see past the mark on your skin and see you for, well, you. The past few weeks had been awkward and rough but you two were finally back on good terms, you wouldn't let Gaster's possessive nature clash with his. You dropped your hand from the scientist's chest and smiled up to him, “Fine, when exactly is this..?”

He glanced back down to you, a good sign as he didn't feel the need to keep glaring at Sans, “Mid-Afternoon, you will arrive and leave with me, my dear.”

Nodding you managed to finally catch your breath, “You think this new bill is going to do the trick?”

He hummed lightly, ignoring Sans' glance as he spoke back up, “We had to improvise, there will be a database with monster types and records of every monster that leaves the underground-”

“Like a social security thing?” you asked, he nodded as you mulled it over, “That's actually not a bad idea..” you smirked, narrowing your eyes slightly as you looked up at him, “are you already in it?”

His mouth lightly tugged at the edges, his undamaged socket drooping ever so slightly as you pressed, “What did you put down..?”

He tipped his shoulders in a barely noticeable shrug, “Whoever can read hands will know.”

“G, that's terrible,” you chuckled as Sans nervously balled up his hands in his jacket pockets, he couldn't understand the scientist without him signing and your conversation settled on his bones oddly.

Undyne shouted through your discussion, getting you to turn to look at her over your shoulder, “Hey Sun, you done flirting around so we can get back to kicking butt!?”

Luckily your skin was already flush as you looked back to Gaster, he peered down at you with a light smile and murmured, “I will be back tonight, my dear.”

You couldn't help but to smile, wrapping your arms around him one last time in a tight hug to which his chest lightly fluttered in a silent chuckle. Pulling away you stepped back, “It's good to have you back, G.”

You spun on your heel and jogged back into the field towards Undyne who tossed you the disc, the four of you scattered across the clearing as you tossed the frisbee over to Frisk. Gaster silently watched as you all ran around, working together against Asriel and Papyrus who were a tough team to beat arguably. Papyrus had a better sense of tactic where Undyne had brute strength and will, you yourself were good at placing yourself in the most opportune positions while Frisk and Asriel darted around every which way and that added a randomized unpredictability to the game.

The scientist turned his gaze to the skeleton who had a neutral smile on his face, his eye sockets half lidded as he murmured, “you know you have to let her go eventually,” he began, “and when you do.. i'll be there.”

The doctor couldn't hold back the steady narrowing of his undamaged socket, his white pupil being cut in half as the glare deepened. Sans just blew a puff of air out from his jaws as he turned to join back into the game, teleporting across the field to intercept the disc from Undyne as she screamed in frustration and jogged lazily away out of her angry grasp. The scientist felt a dark twisting within his chest as he watched you catch up to him, grabbing at his jacket to try to reach over the top of him to grab at the disc while yelling and laughing. As the doctor pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth, feeling the edges and sharp divots Toriel spoke lightly from beside him. He hadn't noticed her stand, the sudden intrusion causing his white gaze to rip from the playful game and onto the queen.

Toriel didn't even flinch as he inadvertently turned his glare onto her, “Docter Gaster, it's important to remember that humans on the surface now are much different than they were centuries ago. There are radical groups, individual actions and a very difficult divide amongst them all..”

Her gaze was soft as she spoke to him, his face slowly beginning to relax back into it's bored expression but he still felt the sharp edge of a canine that sliced into his inky tongue. He mulled the oily flavor in his mouth silently as she continued, “It's dangerous for a human to be close to monsters in certain areas, around certain people.. But now that she.. that she carries those markings, some monsters will also be angry at her. You know how taboo and forbidden it is, even though she insists to leave them upon her body.”

The scientist turned his gaze back to the game in front of him, studying how Papyrus and Sans worked together to get the disc away from Undyne but she merely threw the disc behind her for Frisk to catch, Asriel hot on their heels as they ran off. Sans managed to block your path to try to help your team. While laughing you managing to barely duck around him and ran off down the field for Frisk to toss you the frisbee with Sans close behind. Toriel lightly continued as Asgore muttered to Alphys on the grass, “If anything happens to her, it is your responsibility.. and I will hold you to that.”

The monster huffed lightly, drawing his hands out from his pockets as he continued to watch the game and signed in American sign language,  _ 'That you may.' _

He knew the implications, he slightly admired the queen for being so poignant but another matter was grinding in his mind and staining his tongue as he witnessed Sans gripping onto your sweaty, glistening and heaving body. You squealed and laughed as he tried to take the frisbee from you. Toriel turned away from the scientist as Alphys spoke up and began to weave the queen into the preparations for tomorrow. Gaster could hardly focus as he smeared his own blood against the inside of his mouth, even though he could clearly see his mark upon your neck his soul flared at Sans' threat. As if knowingly the skeleton turned his head to look at him as he snatched the frisbee from you and held it outward, forcing you to lean over top of his shoulders to grab at it. The skeleton winked his right socket right at Gaster even though the distraction caused you to escape with the frisbee, quickly sending it spinning through the air towards Undyne with Papyrus trying to cut off the toss.

The scientist's hands clenched in his pockets before he vanished from the park, he couldn't challenge Sans. Not here.. not yet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is loong, 17 pages, and will be coming to you guys as soon as I'm done tweaking it/polishing it.


	32. Sans used "Cock Block", It Was Mildly Effective (R)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster had been pardoned for his sins by the king of all monsters in exchange to assist in politics.  
> You stand by his side, and all of your friends, as you throw down your final assault against "The Man".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of Sexual Tension/Jealousy and Rough Smut (at the end).

You all finished your game about an hour and a half later, got food on the way home from your favorite diner and even showed Sans your favorite blueberry whipped cream waffles. He had to admit, they were pretty good though not as good as straight up ketchup. You all shared laughs, going over the game and eating before heading back home to which you parted from the group to shower. They would be waiting for you for a movie night, Toriel making some snacks for everybody as you went into your flat to get cleaned up. Chip had missed you so badly you had to leave the bathroom door open otherwise he would just cry and cry for you to let him in. He just sat on the counter as you washed the filth from your skin, feeling happy and light. The next day was making you a tad nervous but you knew it would be okay. Gaster would be there with you and so would everyone else, nothing bad could happen with everyone working together, right? 

Stepping from the shower you promptly got dressed in just a baggy t-shirt and basketball shorts, the running around of today left you sore and filled your muscles with warmth. Wearing sweats would just make you, well, sweaty again. As you stepped back into the living room, tying your wet hair back into a messy bun you jumped as you found Gaster sitting on the couch, his arms draped across the back of the cushions as he watched you. Laughing nervously you finished with your hair and skipped over to him as Chip meowed and stepped from the bathroom. You slid up in front of him as he peered up at you, a faint smile on his mouth.

“Hey, G. What's up?” you smirked, watching him slowly move his arms from the back of the couch to grip onto your waist and pulled you closer. There was a hungry look in his eyes that sent your stomach into warm fluttering, gently you placed your hands onto his shoulders but quickly recoiled from his damaged side. He simply chuckled and murmured as he tilted his head to the side.

“It's all right, my dear. The wound is just another one of many scars,” he cooed as his fingertips slid up under your shirt, lightly caressing your sides as he pressed his palms up and wrapped his fingers around your ribs to your back.

Shivering lightly you let out a soft pant and rested your hand on his shoulder once more as he drew you closer to the point of that you had to climb up onto the couch with your knees on either sides of his waist, keeping yourself propped up and off of his lap. Gingerly he lifted your shirt, showing your bare flesh to him as his hot breath slid across your delicate skin. Gasping you closed your eyes as his strong jaws bit onto your side, drawing across the flesh in a deep sweeping motion as he ground his teeth against you. Your hands grasped tightly to his shoulders as a gentle moan eased from your throat, his inky black tongue pressing and tasting you.

A feral growl wove through your muscle and bone as he removed his jaws from you and tenderly licked over the slightly reddened area, your eyelids fluttered at his need. The bite marks on your neck tingling deeply as he continued to slide his hands up with your shirt, pulling you closer as his tongue trailed up your sternum and to your breasts to which he nipped onto your bra with slight irritation. His hands slid around to your back, quickly unclasping it and hooked a cup up and away from your sensitive flesh with his hand. He held your bra up against your collarbone just as his tongue curiously pressed against your nipple with a hot pant brushing over your chest. 

You were sent into a heavy panting as he teased you, the way his fingers clutched at your skin made you flush and tremble with excitement. It had been weeks since you'd seen each other and you could tell it had been building within the monster to uncontrollable heights, you let out a soft squeak as his teeth ever so gently bit down your nipple causing you to jolt in his grasp. Your squirming was like music to his ears as he glanced up to you with his eyelids drooped. You met his gaze, lips slightly parted as his claws dug down into your soft body while dragging his hands back down to your hips and pulled your fully onto his lap. You gasped lightly at the growing bulge in his pants, he found your reaction amusing as he rolled your hips for you, grinding you down against the growing mound. With a suppressed groan you snapped onto his neck tightly, digging your teeth into his thick skin as his hands gripped to you dominantly. 

With a muffled moan you sucked and ground your teeth to his neck to which he hummed at deeply, letting his eyes close as he rocked your hips down against him and tilted his head to the side as you bit him. You could feel your arousal growing, your fresh panties soon becoming moist as he built you up and took his time with feeling you shudder against his broad chest. He finally had you in his grasp, alone and in the darkening flat he began to run through his mind the things he wanted to do to you.. the noises he wanted to pull from your quivering throat. The scientist smirked, tilting his head down into the crook of your neck to take in your scent right along the bite marks he had placed. 

You ran your hands affectionately over his shoulders and eventually clasped them behind his back along his shoulder blades as you released his neck and deeply licked up the side of it to his jaw with a soft growl. He matched your snarling, rumbling deep within his chest as he jerked your waist down against him roughly which sent a yip past your trembling lips. Swiftly you pulled away from his jaw to lift your face up to his with your eyes partially opened. You two quickly met, mouths parting and tongues intertwining as you pressed your lips down onto him and wrestled along each other. Curiously, with heat beating through your spine, you flicked your gaze up into his eyes and found him staring at you fondly. The intimacy of the moment made your soul throb. He kept a hand at your hip while the other snaked up your back and gripped onto your shoulder to pull you down tighter against him. 

Moaning down his hot throat you could feel him pulsing between your legs, the skimpy and thin fabric of the shorts you chose let you truly feel the heat coming from him as you straddled his waist. Sloppily your tongues delved at one another, he tasted mildly of alcohol while yours was still that sweet cream flavor from the waffles you had. It was an interesting cocktail that inspired you both as the world was faded away from your consciousness. Craving the stimulation your hips began to grind down against him as you pushed him back against the cushions of the couch, your fingernails digging into his shoulder blades as he withdrew his tongue and panted against your wet lips.

“So eager to sin..” he muttered as you whimpered, flicking your tongue against him needingly but he just purred as you murmured.

“Just shut up and take me to church,” you breathed, pressing your lips back to him as you forced your tongue into his parting jaws. 

He hummed deeply against your tongue as you rolled into him, your jaws working together during the passionate kiss as he held you against him. Your hips continued to teasingly grind along him in deep, slow drives that rubbed up against your sensitive folds. Just as you started to pull your hands out from around his neck, slipping them over his uneven chest there was a knock at the door that startled you into breaking the kiss and gasped.

The scientist snarled as he kept his grip on you, Sans' voice drawing from the other side as you jerked to look at the door, “hey, kid, you comin' or what..?”

_ 'well not anymore' _ you thought, pushing at Gaster's chest but he didn't budge. His eyes were screwed onto the door with a fierce sneer drawn over his face. Your heart began to race as the doorknob began to turn, coughing loudly you broke off of his lap and while his claws wanted to keep hold of you they faltered and allowed you to stand just as the door swung open. Sans stared into the living room as you tucked your shirt back down over your belt line and held your arms tight at your sides to keep your bra in place.

“J-just one..-” you scooted off to the hallway, “one more second-” you trotted down the hallway to your bedroom and rounded the wall to press against it with your eyes wide. You tried to get control of your breathing and shake the haze of your arousal while tucking your hands up behind your back under the shirt to clasp your bra back into place. You could hear Sans murmur in the living room as you decided to quickly change your now ruined panties and slip into some sweats instead. You had already began sweating, nothing else left to lose.

 

As Sans glanced to see you rush off towards the bedroom his gaze went straight back to the scientist as he leaned back against the couch cushions and drew an ankle up onto his knee, staring intently at the skeleton as Sans muttered, “..what do you think you're doing here, pal?”

Ever so slowly the scientist's eye socket drooped down while he brought a hand up to his face, he watched as Sans eyes went wide and pitch black as he held up two fingers and opened his jaws. He pressed the squirming, thick, black inky tendril against the tightly held fingers and forced them apart as the tongue gently rolled through them. The insides of his fingers quickly became coated in sticky black transparent film that even beaded down his knuckles to the hole in his hand. 

The air suddenly sparked with a bass like tremor that you clearly felt back in your room, the marks on your neck were already tingling but they spiked shortly before the tremor shook through your flat. Stepping into your new sweats you shouted out of the room, “Don't you two  _ dare _ start!”

Gaster kept his eyes locked onto the skeleton as he gave one last deep lick between his fingers, pushing the middle of his tongue out to show off the hole within it before his tongue flicked back into his mouth and he lowered his arm back down onto the couch. He knew the skeleton was noticing how his thick saliva crept down over his long, lanky clawed digits.  _ 'Just like how I coat her quivering thighs..'  _ he mused internally. Sans noticed the thought as he struggled to keep control of his magic, his heavy breathing hissing through his pointing teeth.

With a huff you turned to leave the bedroom, projecting your voice, “G, that means you too!”

The scientist merely smirked, slowly wiping the spit onto the side of his leg which drew the skeleton's gaze to his pants and he quickly turned away towards the hall as you stepped from the room and padded towards the skeleton. With a sigh you stepped up to Sans who was doing a pretty good job at keeping his outward composure but beneath his jacket beads of sweat built on his scarred rib cage.

You smiled as you nodded to the skeleton, “All right, sorry. Let's get back before Frisk comes in and tries to kidnap Chip.”

You smiled as the cat mewed behind you, the feline trotting into the kitchen. Glancing to Gaster you smiled sweetly, “I don't suppose you want to join us?”

The marks on your neck stung but you weren't going to blow of your friends like that, especially since Sans had sort of walked in on the scene. You were trying to mend things, not take sides. He hummed gently and shook his head, his voice calm and docile though you noticed how he watched you hungrily, “Go on, my dear. I will see you tomorrow morning for the meeting, I have business.”

You nodded, trying to not smirk as you caught his meaning and looked back to Sans as he smiled at you and turned to head out of the door. You fell in step with him, giggling and bringing up what movie you were going to watch while you stepped into the hallway. As Sans responded he threw a shit eating glance back inside at the scientist's irritated facial expression that he just couldn't hide fast enough. The door abruptly slammed shut behind the skeleton with a flash of blue light as they stepped across the hall.

Gaster drew in a heavy breath and let it out slowly, his skin was itching from his ache. He glanced around the flat lightly, catching the eyes of Chip as he peered around the counter and lightly chittered. The scientist remained still as the feline lightly stepped out from behind the counter and meowed gently, ending it's inflection with a soft trilling noise. Huffing lightly the doctor dipped his hand down from the couch and lightly snapped his fingers, Chip mewed loudly as he ran on over and accepted the light scratching beneath his chin from one of the scientist's damp fingers. This was not the pussy he thought he was going to be getting tonight. No matter, he would be sure to make that woman tremble deeply enough that the cock blocking skeleton would feel the air rattling his bones.

With a light growl the man stood, sending Chip to scamper away as he called upon the void to take him back home. The second time he was forced to this, the next time.. he didn't think he would mind if that bag of bones walked in on him laying claim to what was already his. In fact, it excited him.

 

The rest of the night went perfectly fine. You sat on the couch with Sans, Alphys and the two children as Undyne and Papyrus sat on the floor. Toriel had taken the love seat and was silently reading some book about snails. They all had pushed the coffee table out of the way to make room for plenty of blankets and pillows as you all watched some sort of anime series. You couldn't help but get swept into the story and before you knew it hours had passed and your marks went silent. As Toriel announced she was heading to bed the rest of you waved goodnight to her and even as you yawned, thinking of going back to your flat Sans persuaded you to stay. You couldn't say no to the two children at your side and Papyrus whom was at your feet. You wouldn't see Gaster until the morning anyways, a night spent with friends was better than spending it alone as you had been doing.

 

***

 

The next morning you awoke with the kids cuddling into your chest with your feet on Sans' lap who was still just sitting off to the far end of the couch. Toriel woke all of you with the smell of her making pancakes to which you all ate greedily and went your separate ways across the floor to get changed and ready for the meeting. You got dressed in your own flat, just a simple dress you had worn to work a few times over the past few months. You did your hair and makeup and even tried to cover the marks on your skin with foundation but no matter what you did they would just fade to the surface. Magic, of course. Jenny had sent you a few texts to which you responded to quickly before turning the phone on silent and planned to leave it on the counter, she was going to watch the broadcast at work and while she was excited you felt nauseous. You had no choice but to wear a scarf and hope your hair stayed down over your neck. 

You went back into Toriel's flat to see everyone dressed and anxious, except for Sans, he just looked sleepy and sloppy as always. Frisk padded up to you with Asriel who gave you a good look up and down.

“Not too bad, Sun,” he mused, you just laughed and lightly patted his head. His tiny horns poking from his skull tickled your palm as you spoke to the two.

“Thanks guys, I just have to remember to not show them my hand on accident.”

Undyne huffed, in her royal guard armor that was more just for show than practicality. She and Papyrus both wore beautiful outfits of both purple cloth and metal pauldrons that accented the medieval style. Alphys was in a professional business suit and the children wore nicer clothes that would be better for photographs but they wouldn't be taken as seriously no matter what they wore. You felt a nervousness creep into your guts as you stood there, anxious. As if reading your mind Frisk began to sign up to you.

_ 'You'll do fine. Gaster won't talk much anyways and when he does just remember that you're also translating him for us too.' _

You smiled to Frisk, nodding. With the moths gone the children wouldn't be able to understand the scientist and you doubted he would even sign, Alphys stepped up to you with a grin on her face as she adjusted her glasses.

“D-doctor Gaster i-is me-merely introducing it. I-i'll be speaking w-with Asgore to the delegates,” she explained, holding her hands in front of her belt line with a light blush. You could tell she was also nervous so you gave her a gentle touch on the shoulder that pulled her gaze up into your smiling face.

“You'll do great, Alphys.”

Sans sauntered up to your little group as Undyne and Papyrus joked and built up their moral off in the hallway, the entire flat was buzzing with activity,”..hey,” he spoke gently to draw your attention to him. He, of course, was the only one not wearing anything special. His hands in his jacket pockets with his iconic track pants. 

“i know this is your first time, but don't worry these things are really quite boring..” he drawled, rolling his eyes which caused you to giggle, “we'll be right there with you.”

You nodded, letting out a deep breath as you tried to relax. Though his eyes quickly flicked to something behind you and you didn't have to look to know Gaster had come into the flat unannounced and silent as usual. Frisk scrambled past your legs with Asriel as they stood in front of the scientist and began to sign rapidly, he lightly leaned over with his hands behind his back as he listened with his black lab coat nearly cocooning the children. 

You kept your eyes on Sans, sighing before you went on, “This is just a  _ reaally _ big deal, you know?”

The skeleton's grin widened, nodding lightly but then shrugged his shoulders, “yeah. alphys filled me in on the bill-” he glanced to her as she smiled at the both of you, “and it's pretty full proof. i don't like the idea of being filed away in a document somewhere but i guess it's what humans do these days.”

You spoke up, smiling, “Yeah, that's really normal for us. It is a good idea though, it would help shut anyone up about saying monsters are criminal as we can keep track of all of that now.”

“P-plus i-it allows mon-monsters to hold office,” Alphys chimed in as you looked over to her, Gaster signing something slowly behind your back to Frisk in American sign language, “I-it gives communities a.. a voice.”

You hoped this wasn't too pushy of a bill, you knew how down right obnoxious human politics could be as money and bribes were exchanged for votes. But it seems as if monsters had flipped that on their heads as most politicians went full force with their own ideas and beliefs, most of them were not very friendly. 

“What about the camps..?” you murmured, Alphys quickly answered.

“Th-they'd be dissolved. O-of course. Another example of how fragile monsters are.”

Papyrus and Undyne strode back into the living room with Toriel in tow, everyone was ready to get going now. You looked back to the two before you and exhaled shakily, trying to not psyche yourself out.

“All right. Here we go, guys.”

Sans nodded and lifted a hand up to you for you to take, as you went to reach for him your bite marks burned against your skin as Gaster loomed above you and gently wrapped an arm around you. 

“No need,” he muttered, only you understood what he said but Sans still lowered his hand back into his pockets. The slightest hint of a smirk tugging at the skeleton's grin as Asriel and Frisk grabbed onto your hands. You looked down to the kids curiously as Sans stepped towards Undyne, Papyrus and Toriel with Alphys beside him.

The scientist looked down to you blankly as you watched the children smile up at you, “They wanted to come along with us.”

You glanced back over to the larger group as Sans took hold of Papyrus and Undyne and vanished with them, leaving Toriel and Alphys speaking quietly to each other. The children gripped to either one of your legs, still holding onto either hand as Gaster's fingers curled around your bicep. You took in a deep breath and let it out, disappearing from the room just as Sans returned to take the queen and Alphys next.

You suddenly were all in a very crowded, bustling hallway at the capitol building. If it weren't for Gaster's hold on you.. it was a very real possibility you could have ran away screaming. There were camera crews, hordes of both monsters and man going back and forth through rooms. You were frozen in place, your heart thudding at a million miles a second. The scientist wasn't pleased either, his grip on you firm as your marks seemed to squirm along your skin. The kids let go of you and stood just in front of both your shins while looking around amazed. Today was going to be a long day.

 

Gaster kept you close to him as the four of you made your way through the halls, the sea of people seemed to just scramble to get out of his way. He was a very large monster like the king and the way he would look through people sent their curious gazes away, he projected dominance and he did not care to be trifled with. His protective aura helped settle your stomach as you held onto the kids and walked along with them into the main hall where quite a few politicians had taken their seats. Cameras were everywhere, news reporters were everywhere and even though they eyed Gaster he would just shoot them a look and completely removed any courage they had to try to talk with him. 

You glanced up to see your party at the end of the room and sighed in relief as you made your way to them, Asgore stood out the most with his brilliant gold and purple armor and his horns shone brilliantly in the light. He truly looked like a leader. You had a few minutes to chat amongst yourselves but the scientist remained silent, gazing across the room at the activity absentmindedly. All of the people in the room had a copy of the proposed bill to replace the ban on magic, many were thumbing through it and talking quietly in collective groups. Goosebumps raised on your arms as your markings twitched at your flesh, looking over your shoulder to the scientist you saw him zoning out. You turned your back to the group and lightly touched the side of his arm, his eyes snapping out of it and glanced down to you.

“A lot of people here, huh?” you murmured amidst the chatter of the hall, he lightly nodded and turned fully towards you with his hands behind his back.

He didn't speak but you could tell he was uneasy, chewing lightly at the inside of your cheek you murmured, “I know you've fought a lot in your life, G. But you don't have to worry about that while in here, these men.. these men are just voices. They possess no real power or physical threat.. We have them all beat, you and I.”

You grinned as his mouth lightly tugged into a barely noticeable smirk, his eyelid drooping to match his damaged side as you looked to him. Frisk tugged at your dress to get you to look down at them as they smiled and pointed to themselves, you laughed lightly and nodded.

“And of course you too, Frisk..” you glanced back to the large group behind you, chatting and occasionally laughing. Sans noticed you looking at the group as he stood beside his brother getting into the conversation and winked at you just as the last words slipped from your lips, “All of us.”

A gavel banging on the hard wood drew all of your gazes to the main coordinator as he cleared his throat and went on to announce today's agenda which was only one subject. The Reformed Law of Magic Use. 

 

In just a few minutes you found yourself standing at the center of attention with Gaster beside you in one of the many long rows of tables curving along the room, next to you was Alphys and on the other side of her was Asgore. They were both sitting while you and the scientist stood to make your opening statements, Gaster had a cool air that seeped into the markings on your body. It didn't do much to quell your racing heart as everyone stared at you. The men up at the podium were higher officials while everyone else in the room went from media personnel to city councilmen and even governers. You hardly recognized any of them. 

The scientist stood tall, his shoulders straight and hands behind his back while you tried to mimic his confidence as the cameras all turned on and the assembly began. 

“So,” the man went on, the name plate 'Douglas Vanihew' standing in front of his microphone on the desk, “This new bill will give us everything we need for monster rights, magic usage and information as well as establish a database for all monster residents on the surface.”

You nodded, Gaster remained still. The man lightly rubbed the bridge of his nose as he looked up at you directly, meeting your gaze as his voice echoed through the chamber.

“So, who are you?”

Swallowing you put on a smile and responded honestly with your first and last name then tagged on the end, “I'm going to be translating for Doctor WD Gaster.”

The men in the hall glanced to one another as they looked to the monster but he was busy staring down the speaking man on the podium while his colleagues beside them leafed through the bill in their hands. 

“This.. man doesn't speak English?”

“No, he speaks in a different language but can understand all of us just fine.”

“How does that work?” the man blinked slowly, seeming annoyed. This reminded you of being scolded in school, you hated getting that look. Your soul flared as you brushed away your nervousness and responded.

“Magic. He can't verbally communicate in any other language but he can sign in various languages.”

“He uses sign language..?” the man drawled, “We can have our own translator for that.”

“He prefers to not do so,” you replied, trying to remain calm as murmurs broke out along the room.

“And why is that?”

“It's better for me to just translate what he is saying, it would take longer to communicate otherwise,” finally the man let his questions drop, flipping through his notes before looking back up again and nodded.

You opened your mouth, projecting your voice to everyone could hear you, “A fair warning ladies and gentlemen.. The doctor's speech is much different than anything you've heard before,” you glanced around the room, not being able to see those behind you but you felt their gazes none the less. Glancing up to the scientist you nodded, his jaws lightly parting as he began to speak lowly. A few men flinched as his warbled speech wove through the air and popped like static on certain syllables but you managed to translate him just fine, remembering what Frisk had told you. You were translating for them. For the world, in fact. 

Gaster walked through the summary of the bill, briefly touched upon his many years of research that were included within the document to give fair rights to both humans and monsters to allow them to co-exist in peace. He wrapped up his small statement with the tid bit of documentation for record keeping that would be used for both human and monster kind to better integrate them among society as a whole.

The speaker cleared his throat after you were finished and gazed to the scientist who met his eyes coldly, “Social security integration is a large issue, but I feel it a smart move to keep track of movement and historical records of individual monsters. May I ask, my dear-” you shuddered, your mark digging into your flesh angrily as the man went on, “what type of monster does Doctor WD Gaster fall under..?”

Blinking away the tears from the harsh sting in your skin you opened your mouth, “Is that truly imperative information, Mr. Vanihew?”

“Out of curiosity for myself and colleagues, wouldn't it be better to become familiar sooner than later with the different monster cultures?”

You glanced up to Gaster, his white eyes remained focus on the speaker with his neutral expression. This time, you really couldn't read him. You felt for your soul, concentrating on his magic that clung to it to get a feel for him, but you were met with a cold atmosphere. The scientist had shut himself off. You were stuck. You couldn't tell the entire world that the man standing next to you was a Lich. Even monsters were afraid of such a word, of such power.

“Well..?” the man pressed, murmurs starting up around the room as you nodded and swallowed.

“He is.. a type of undead monster. Like skeletons-,” you heard the murmurs grow as you went on, “Monsters are made out of magic, Mr. Vanihew. Their appearances depend on their magical abilities unlike us humans who are based on genetic code that make up who we are.”

There was an obnoxious voice off to the side of the room behind you, a heavier set gentlemen who had been eyeing the scientist's back oddly, “It's got holes in it's hands, like some kid of anti-christ-”

That sparked the entire room into an uproar, ' _ a demon?!' 'My lord, what could that mean about this magic..?' 'Oh enough it's not about religion!'  _

_ 'It explains why he definitely appears to be dead..' 'What? Seriously he's got holes in his hands..?' 'That's just wrong..' 'How are we going to classify this..?' _

The voices all started to dog on each other, becoming a big giant chaotic mess as you nervously bit into the side of your cheek. You glanced at the scientist beside you. He remained unwavering, his hands still clasped behind his back. It took the gavel pounding on the wood to settle everyone's bicker down to a gentle murmur as the speaker looked to you.

You couldn't help yourself, feeling anger strike in your heart as you blurted out, “If we could keep the discussion on the matter at hand instead of talking about  _ his hands  _ we can get into the topic of magic with it's correlation to the appeal of the ban on magic. The subject we are all here today to discuss.”

You heard a stack of papers hit the desk behind you as that same voice grumbled, “I'm not looking at shit a demon is trying to give to me..”

You whipped around, feeling the cool breeze against the marks on your neck as you came face to face with the politician, he reminded you of a heavier set Robert with money lining his pockets, “Yes because of the way his hands look you aren't going to take into consideration the thousands of monsters whose lives depend on this bill as well as the people you represent.”

He went to scoff at you but you folded your arms, standing in the other direction of the scientist as he remained motionless. You glanced at the mans name tag before meeting his eyes, “Would you say that about a black man handing you a bill..? Or a woman? I'm sorry the Doctor isn't a small, non-threatening bunny rabbit Mr. Davis but it doesn't make his career invalid just because you are superstitious.”

The man blinked wildly as he stared at you, murmurs breaking out louder among the room and even the chairmen as they talked to one another. You held the man's gaze as his attention turned away from your face and down to your neck then shot back into your eyes as he stood, “Were you also going to say I would be biased against women with  _ tattoo's _ as well?”

Your heart stopped, reaching a hand up to correct your hair so it lay draped over your neck where the tiny pin bricks of black were showing on your soft flesh. The man snorted, “I have much more important things to do than be pestered by some teenage girl, good day gentlemen!”

And with that Mr. Davis strode out of the hall as it blew up with chatter once more, you slowly turned to face forward but something caught your eye. You paused halfway to look up and saw Sans giving you a subtle thumbs up from across the room with his eyelids drooped, Frisk was trying to stifle their giggles in their hands next to Asriel who winked at you. Undyne and Papyrus were murmuring with Toriel as you smiled and looked forward with the scientist beside you. You could do this. 

The gavel rang out once more but this time it took longer to settle everyone back down, you tried to keep your smile subtle as the room was forced to quiet back down. The marks upon your skin, upon your soul, warmed slightly as the chairmen struggled to break up everyone's conversations. A few more men had also left the room by now but not many. It wouldn't matter to you, if you were wasting your time with them it was better if they left. There were plenty who remained.

Mr. Vanihew projected his voice as he spoke over the crowd, “The Doctor's hands aside let's get down to business gentlemen!”

 

The rest of the bill went well you'd say. Gaster didn't speak another word as you went through the crowds questions about magic and when the questions turned to souls you found it a great time to introduce Alphys and Asgore who took over from there. They replaced you in the lime light as both you and Gaster sat quietly at the desk, you would glance at the scientist but find nobody home throughout the entire rest of the meeting. He didn't drink, he didn't move.. he seemed to be elsewhere. You had always thought the doctor liked to be by himself and you were starting to understand why, you didn't want to think about what would have happened if he couldn't control himself in a crowded, busy room filled with angry humans. Or, perhaps, he was simply bored out of his mind.

Finally, after long deliberation and arguing from everyone which included yourself it was sent to a vote. The 'Nay's were strong.. but the 'Yay's overpowered them. With the slam of the gavel it was announced that monsters now had an official bill of conduct, rights and regulations that they themselves controlled. 

You had done it.

You wanted to jump and shout with the crowds outside, you could hear them as the gentlemen packed up their things around the room but you remained sitting with Gaster. You felt tired. It felt as if it had been years since you woke up that morning.. watching the news. Now you were fired, you watched a coworker get murdered and you were bound to a Lich with your soul. It was as if someone was writing a terrible fan fiction and had thrown you into it. As the men filed out of the room into the busy, chaotic hallway the scientist slowly stood up and you followed suit with a heavy sigh. Turning to him you looked up into his face but he was looking across the room, you wanted to say something to him but you couldn't think at this point. Arguing with old men was a horrible experience and left your brain frazzled.

Your attention was drawn back behind you as Alphys gently touched your shoulder, she was smiling from ear to ear as you saw Papyrus and Undyne high five one another from across the room. You just couldn't muster the energy to return the smile. 

“Y-you we-were amazing!” she stammered as Frisk and Asriel stormed down the aisle towards the both of you, looking up at Gaster as they came to a halt and found him staring off at the exit where the noise was deafening. 

“We made history,” you breathed, pressing a hand back through your hair as Frisk began to sign at you.

_ 'What's wrong with him?' _ you frowned.

Asriel set his hands into his pockets, looking to Frisk and murmured softly to the point you could barely hear what he was saying, “He probably has PTSD..”

_ 'What's that?' _ they signed, scrunching up their face.

You turned to look at the scientist, he was abnormally devoid and detached at this point. Gently you reached a hand out and pinched onto the fabric of his coat, that got his attention as he slowly swept his gaze to look down at you. Smiling up at him a deep exhale pushed through his chest as he turned his body towards you and looked past your shoulder. You blinked, turning back to the children you found Sans standing behind them in place of Alphys who has rushed over to speak with Toriel and the others. He spoke gently, “you gon' be the queen of dunkin' on creeps now?”

You let out a light laugh, shaking your head, “I wouldn't steal your catch phrase, Sans.”

“heh, good,” he smirked, his grin drawing into his eye sockets, “only one of us can be a sans-sation.”

You could hear Papyrus from across the room give a loud sigh at the pun. Gaster's eerie presence at your back gave you strength as he hovered above you, the skeleton and the lich met gazes as they stared at each other. Ugh, not again.

Asriel and Frisk had stopped talking as they looked up to Sans and then Gaster, Frisk folded their arms abruptly with a huff and Asriel chirped, “If you guys keep staring at each other like this everyone is going to think you're in love.”

Sans flinched, turning his gaze to the two children as he pulled his hands from his jacket pockets to smack them down on the tops of both of their heads. The kids gave out a yip and giggled as his bony fingers grabbed at their skulls, with his voice low he murmured to them in a playful growl, “you wanna have a  **bad time** , kiddos..?”

You laughed lightly, crossing your arms and lifting your hand in front of your mouth as the kids squirmed and slapped at his arms to no avail. The skeleton slowly drew his fingers together over their heads and then pressed them back down their skull, the kids equally shuddered and cringed with the sensation. You could only just laugh harder as they quickly ripped away from the skeleton and ran back past him towards Toriel. He spun on his heels and strode on after them, hands in his pockets with a cheeky grin tugging at his teeth.

 

Sighing you spun around and faced the scientist, a smirk tugging at your lips as your murmured, “My place..? I could use a drink and I think we had some.. unfinished business..”

His mouth slightly twitched into a smirk as he brought his hands forward and you gently entangled your fingers with his lanky, clawed digits. His pupils suddenly jumped from your face to behind you, a light sigh pressing from his chest as you turned to look over your shoulder. Jumping you let go of Gaster's hands and spun around to face Toriel and Asgore who were standing there patiently, the queen had a soft expression while the king had a light smirk on his face. The scientist stood at your back as you nervously smiled and fully turned to face them, luckily Asgore spoke quickly.

“You did a wonderful job, if it weren't for your research and input Doctor Gaster.. I don't think this would have been possible,” the scientist remained silent with a bored expression on his face, Asgore continued, “Before you leave it would help out if you would work the room with the remaining reporters who requested interviews, it should only be one more hour and then we can take our leave.”

Another  _ hour? _ You held back the urge to sigh, your mind had wandered back to last night as you and the scientist were getting busy before being so rudely interrupted. A few drinks and time alone would have been nice but you forced a smile and nodded, “Sure thing.”

As the two turned and walked away towards the doors, being flagged down by multiple crews, you hoped that Gaster's looming appearance would scare away the reporters but as you glanced around you already found a few trickling into the room. One man was actually interviewing Sans who seemed bored out of his mind with Frisk and Asriel standing next to him, the skeleton tilted his head over to you and winked. Your attention was then drawn by a young woman stepping up to you who eagerly looked to the both of you, shyly you stepped slightly in front of the doctor as the smaller woman took a step forward to fully close the distance, a few more camera men filed in behind her.

“Hi, I'm Donna Thornstead with channel nine news..” you internally cringed but forced a smile anyways, the scientist held his head high while peering down at the woman. She didn't react to him what so ever and just focused her attention on you,  _ 'let's get this over with' _ you thought bitterly. You were ready to kick these shoes off. 

“We think what you did here today was a historical benchmark for humanity, how do you think monsters will react to the new documentation system?”

She held the microphone out to you, your markings began to itch with the scientist's flaring irritation as your plans for the evening trickled into the back of your head, “I think it'll be received well. Documentation is a great form of record keeping on friends and family that may travel across the surface world and I know that treating them as any other human citizen is a great way to break down walls.”

She nodded and pulled the microphone back, not even skipping a beat as she pressed to her next question. You tried to keep a positive face as the images of the scientist's jaws on your damp neck shivered down your spine, “You did a great job at translating Doctor WD Gaster, how did you learn this language?”

Your heart skipped a beat as you were faced again with the microphone, hardly paying attention to what she had just said. You scrambled, “I-i know it sounds really weird but you get used to it, hah. We, uh, worked together on some of the research that was used in the bill. Exposure mainly helped me pick it up.”

She nodded idly as your markings squirmed against your skin, you could almost feel the scientist's inky tongue tasting your delicate skin as she opened her mouth once more, “So you would say you've spent a lot of time with Doctor Gaster?”

You knew where this was heading and lightly laughed through the cloudy thoughts in your head, “In a professional sense, yes.” 

_ 'Professional' _ , you tried to not laugh as your mind went back to last night on the couch. Yes, he had professionally handled you, he actually made you say;  _ 'shut up and take me to church..' _ . That would make a great headline you mused as the journalist went on to speak cheerful as could be.

“It doesn't concern you at all that he is an undead type of monster? What does that even mean?”

As she tilted the microphone back to you your mind flashed through the memories of his summoned hands, how they held you to him in his study. How his teeth viciously sunk into your flesh, it was hard to conceal the light shudder that ran down your spine as you opened your mouth.

“I assure you that I know many other undead type monsters, as well as elementals and canine beings, who are all great people. Appearances are skin deep.”

“You said during your statements that monsters' appearances are determined by their magical abilities, correct?” you nodded, swallowing shallowly as you remembered how he would growl against your throat, “What kind of magic would an undead monster type carry..? Is this something we should be concerned with?”

The marks upon your neck began to twitch, you tried to ignore the sensation and shake off the perverted thoughts. It was making it extremely hard to concentrate on your answer but they still trickled in, how he tasted of scotch.. how his strong scent could relax your muscles. You found yourself speaking regardless. 

“Human skeleton's wont be rising out of their grave if that's what you're saying,” you laughed, trying to diffuse the question as you really just could not focus. She didn't seem amused by your response. You dodged an onslaught of her questions, being poked and prodded in your mind with various sexual images and sensations that sparked in your marks upon your skin. After she thanked you and scurried away you glanced over your shoulder to the scientist who peered down at you, a smirk cracked on his lips before his expression immediately fell again. You wanted to just stare at him agape, was he doing that..? Oh, that asshole.

You murmured quietly over your shoulder, “I wanna go home too, G. But jesus we've got another forty five minutes of this.”

He lightly hunched down towards you, flicking his white eyes across the room before peering down to you. His voice was low, carrying on his breath, “Foreplay, my dear.”

Your eyebrows shot up, tilting around more towards him as you basically just mouthed at him, your voice barely a whisper,  _ “Getting cock blocked by Sans last night was foreplay enough, G what the fuck-” _

“Excuse me, miss?” you fluttered your eyelids as you quickly turned back around to face the reporter who had spoken with Sans moments ago, a smile covered the nuzzling sensation against your soul. The scientist stood straight once more and peered down to the reporter who glanced up into his eyes then quickly back down to you. You were much less intimidating than him, though not nearly as collected and calm. As the man ran through his questions you tried to not squirm where you were standing. 

Eventually, even as you spoke, you could taste the faint hint of scotch against your tongue. The way his clawed hands would drag along your back, you had to fight fire with fire and sent a barrage of counter attacks against the scientist. Reminding him of how slow and deliberate you had dry humped him in the flat with your teeth into his neck, it made his own images falter but made it that much harder on concentrating on what the reporters were saying. You miraculously managed to not commit a Freudian slip as sensations of the scientist pressing his fingers into your panting mouth sent a shiver through your spine, you were answering a question about Frisk but slightly slurred the beginning of your sentence like a dumbass thinking you really had something in your mouth. It was all his fault. He was going to get it by the end of this. 

You shot him death glares over your shoulder as he shadowed you through the room silently, staring down and scaring off the reporters of weaker nerve but it didn't stop the media from taking pictures of the both of you. You could feel the trickle of sweat beading down the back of your neck and the sensitive, tingling, black markings as you were approached by yet another journalist but accidentally held out your sliced hand. They still shook your hand and lightly made a comment about it but you just laughed and said you cut yourself on a black paint can lid, they bought your lie as you screamed internally. You felt Gaster's magic thrumming against your soul, as if he was laughing but you'd never know it as he kept his stoic stance. 

You fumbled through the short interview and as you turned to walk across the room Sans slid up in front of you, grinning widely, “how's it goin'?”

You sighed, your thighs hot with a deep churning in your gut but you wouldn't admit that to Sans and instead just smiled to him, “All right I guess.. I'm so tired right now,” you laughed, pressing your hand into your face to which he chuckled at.

You moved your hand to see Sans smirking up at the scientist behind you, you shot him a glance as the tingling across your marks evolved into an itch. You broke the silence with a smirk as you spoke, “I saw that you were actually playing your part for once..?”

He looked back at you, his eyelids sleepy, “i'm a  _ bone _ -ified natural for the camera.”

You giggled, your markings itching terribly as you tried to ignore it, “You wouldn't  _ fib _ -ula to me would you?”

“nah,  _ tibia _ -onest I couldn't lie to ya'..”

“Tell a  _ femur _ of these puns and I'm going to die laughing,” you struggled, placing a hand over your chest as you tried to settle down. The scientist's undamaged socket was gently beginning to narrow at the skeleton, your markings itching horribly over the top of your heated arousal.

“i always leave the ladies winded with a smile on their face,” he winked and that really made your markings sting as Frisk and Asriel skipped through the aisle next to the three of you.

“All right, all right,” you waved the hand, cracking a few more chuckles from your throat before gently wiping under your eyes and grinned to the skeleton, “When are we supposed to get out of here?”

The itching ceased gently as Gaster turned his head to an approaching journalist who abruptly changed his path to speak with Alphys instead, you hardly noticed as the skeleton shrugged and brought up his wrist. He pushed the fabric up to expose his naked arm bones and then looked up to you as you giggled, “it's about bounce-thirty.”

“Shall we bounce then..? I could use a drink,” you sighed, dropping your hand as Asriel and Frisk ran past the three of you but then doubled back as they heard your conversation.

“i suppose. i know i gotta take paps and undyne back, he would wear that armor all day if he could but I don't think he needs the extra attention,” Sans drawled lazily.

You nodded, smiling, “Good plan, I can't wait to get out of these damn shoes-”

Frisk suddenly grabbed onto your wrist as Asriel spoke up, “Oh, let us come with you guys back to the flat. Gaster is better at teleporting than Sans.”

The skeleton rolled his eyes as you giggled, “Really? I think Sans does just fine you twerp.”

“I get too dizzy,” the child protested, Frisk nodding with a smile.

Sans chuckled, “all right.. see you back at the flat,” and with that he strolled past you to across the room for where the king and royal guards were chatting. You found it odd how he let that comment slide so easily, you blinked through the thought and down at the kids. Eager to get home you nodded and turned to Gaster who gently placed his hand on your shoulder, tucking you up against him as Frisk gripped to your hand while Asriel clung to Gaster's pant leg. In an instant you were gone.

You blinked across Toriel's vacant apartment for a minute as the kids let go of you and scampered to the back of the flat to their room. Sighing you turned to look at the scientist who kept his plain features, you drew your eyebrows together and smirked as you muttered, “You are in  _ so _ much trouble..”

His eye socket slightly narrowed as he stared at you, his jaw moving ever so slightly as he ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth. You both were pretty heated at this point, it was taking all of your willpower to turn back to look down the hall hearing Frisk and Asriel talking to one another. If you looked at him any more you would probably jump him, you wanted to make him moan from your aggressive bites. You wanted to alleviate this ache between your legs and clear the haze in your head but you couldn't leave the kids by themselves. Luckily Sans shortly popped into the room with the dizzy Papyrus and Undyne. The woman grumbled as she trudged to the living room and threw off a metal piece of armor from her shoulders, sighing and rubbing her face.

“That was so long,” her facial fins twitched as she looked back over to you, “But you handed it to em well, Sun,” she grinned.

You smiled at her jagged grin as Papyrus shook his daze just as Sans vanished once more only to reappear with Asgore, Toriel and Alphys who all lightly swayed from the teleportation. You had forgotten how disorienting it was being transported by Sans, with Gaster it just felt as if you'd open your eyes and suddenly be in the next room. Speaking of which you began to back away towards the door, “Thanks everyone but I gotta get changed-,” you pulled at the scarf as Toriel nodded while everyone trudged and scattered over the room. All except for Sans who slid up between you and the door.

“hey, real quick.. kiddos want you,” he drawled, sighing heavily you looked over to the hall and saw them waving at you. Biting into your cheek you left without a word and trotted over to them, being whisked away into the room as they showed you their new set up. They shared the room but both had their own side and were excited to show you their new digs.

While you were being distracted the scientist glared fully at the skeleton, his spiked urges tugged at his soul and made it hard to remain calm from the persistent cock blocking Sans had accomplished. Fortunately, they were well displaced from the crowd in the flat with Gaster's back to the main room and Sans stood just in front of the door.

“what'sa matter, pal?” the skeleton chuckled softly as other conversations sparked up across the flat, filling it with a gentle noise as he continued, “you seem.. unsatisfied about something.”

Slowly the scientist brought his hands up in front of his chest, hunching down further to tower above the skeleton and cast his menacing shadow across his form. Sans' kept his tired expression, gaze trailing off to the hall as you stepped back out and laughed with the kids. Suddenly, on a will not of his own, his eyes were jerked back to look at the scientist, his body tight and frozen in place as Gaster began to sign deliberately and slowly.

_ 'If you continue to interfere.. I will make you watch the. Entire. Agonizing. Ordeal.' _

The skeleton's sockets went black as his body was slowly given back to him and he back pedaled from the scientist while Gaster straightened back up and slid his hands into his coat pockets. The doctor looked over to you as you skipped up to him and nodded, turning to Sans as you walked forward. Quickly the white pupils of the skeleton's eyes bounced back into his socket's before you could notice.

“Thanks Sans, they seem really happy together..” you smiled but Sans' grin was strained, you noticed a bead of sweat trickling down his neck as he nodded and moved out of the way for you both to pass. You threw a wave behind you as the group, especially Papyrus, said goodbye and you made your way quickly across the hall and flung the door open with the scientist shadowing you. His magic caused the door to shut tightly before you found yourself getting manhandled up against the wall, your back was pressed into the doctors chest as he pinned you to the wall and dipped his face down to the side of your neck. He snatched the scarf off from your throat to only replace it with his jaws, sliding his inky black tongue along your salty skin while his hands pressed down your sides.

Gasping you let your eyes roll into your head, your eye lids closing as you trembled between him and the wall. Reaching back you gripped onto the sides of his coat while panting, “God  _ damnit _ , G..”

His sharp teeth instantly gripped into your skin as he shoved you into the cold wall, his hands grabbing at your dress and hiking it up your thighs as he gnawed on you like a piece of meat. Groaning you arched your back while his clawed digits grasped onto your bare hips, your dress being scrunched up on your lower back as he ground his hips up against your perked ass. Trembling you could feel him through his slacks, aching and hard while his bulge rested just at the top of your cheeks. He was too tall to grind lower but it didn't matter for now. Panting you pulled at the sides of his coat, a growl weaving through your quivering neck.

His hands grabbed at you roughly, reddening your flesh as he pulled back from the wall and lifted your feet off of the ground. Squeaking you quickly caught yourself on the wall in front of you, your nails digging into the paint as a trio of disembodied hands grabbed at your dress and yanked it over your head while others grabbed at your legs to support them in the air on either sides of the doctors waist. You were forced to carefully balance yourself back against his strong body and the wall as you let the dress slip over your arms one by one before plopping onto the floor in a heap. The hands then went straight back for your torso, gripping onto your ribs to help steady you as the scientist slowly rolled his throbbing bulge up against your wet, puffy folds. Separated by a thin, damp piece of fabric.

For the past hour you two had been tormenting each other, his need was urgent as was yours. A whimper pressed from your lungs as he leaned over top of you, slipping his tongue up across your heated back to the nape of your neck to which he paused. His hot breath beat across your damp skin as he chuckled deeply, his magic thrumming through the air at his excitement, “So.. responsive..”

“I wonder why you  _ intolerable jerk _ ,” you hissed, glancing over your shoulder to see him smirking deeply.

“Do you hate me.. my dear?” he breathed, his words lacing with a growl as you smirked and flashed your fangs to him as you spoke.

“So god damn much,” you snarled as he ground himself up against your sensitive folds aggressively, “I'll hate fuck that awful smirk off of your bastard face.”

“I'd like for you to try,  _ **bitch** _ ,” he snarled, his arms shoving up underneath you to change places with the bony hands. His arms supported your chest which cradled your racing heart as he grabbed onto your breasts, rubbing his thumbs into your tender nipples to coax a heavy groan from you. Shaking in his grasp you kept yourself pushed out from the wall, struggling against how hard he was pressing into you. While his aggressive tendencies may have scared you at first you were too horny and irritated yourself to care, his bony summoned hands reddened your flesh at your hips as they suddenly jerked you up higher on his abdomen while another pair quickly unbuttoned his pants. 

His breath pushed against the back of your neck, your arms lightly shaking from keeping yourself propped up but you held fast. Gasping you felt a new hand claw down your back heavily, hooking your panties and literally tore them from your body with a harsh ripping noise. 

“You fucking  _ prick _ ,” you sneered, clenching your teeth together tightly as you let your head hang forward. Those were a cute pair of panties. The fabric was tossed off to the side before the summoned hand darted up and pressed a few bony fingers against your bottom lip, you snapped at the hand angrily which made it pull back while your hips were lowered onto the awaiting head of his large shaft. Your body jolted at the feeling of his hot girth beneath you, his hands slowly dropping you onto it as the head popped within your quivering, slick walls. 

Gasping loudly, on the verge of crying out the hand stuffed it's fingers into your parted lips and pressed down against your squirming tongue to muffle your noises of agonized pleasure. Your walls burned and ached as he forced himself inside of you, working with shallow patient thrusts to work his way through you methodically. Tears pricked at your eyes as he jerked inside of you, striking your sweet spot as a cry sputtered through your throat against the hard digits of the hand. He purred at your noises, dropping his jaws down to snap up the back of your neck in a possessive bite as he rammed his length within you.

Attempting to moan his name your eyes shut tightly, fondling the fingers in your mouth with your tongue passionately as he played with your mouth. His claws dug into your breasts as he rocked himself forward with one final thrust that shoved him right up against your cervix, a deep ache sparking in your stomach as he paused and felt you squirm, shiver and heave against him. He took a good step forward, forcing you only your elbows against the wall as he held you up mainly by his throbbing cock, a deep moan pressed from his jaws and into the back of your neck as his teeth sunk into your delicate skin to keep you submissive while he began to start up his hip rocking. 

Forcefully he tore at your aching, burning walls as he moved within you. He loved every squeak, every shudder and every gasp he could pull from you as he released a feral snarl into the nape of your neck. An animalistic noise that shook you to the bone as his magical influence shuddered across the room. You were so tight around him as he thrust repeatedly against your cervix, drawing a gasping cry from your throat as the skeletal fingers just shoved farther into your mouth. You gagged before closing your mouth around the prodding digits and sucked, grinding your tongue along the nooks and textures of the fingers as it toyed with you.

It didn't even cross your mind that you two were being too violent and loud, the tremors of his magic trickled across the entire floor. You were right next to the front door, it wouldn't leave much to the imagination. Across the hall nobody seemed to notice the edging dark pressure slide across the flat but Sans noticed. He sat with his sockets black on the couch, teeth tightly clenched together while Frisk and Asriel distracted him by trying to take his slippers. The lamp on the small table next to the couch was trembling ever so slightly, the noise drew Sans' eyes to it as he ducked his foot away from Asriel who fell onto the floor in a heap. 

The scientist snarled as his magic felt Sans' soul, he released your aching, red marked neck as his skeletal fingers withdrew from your dripping mouth. Leaving you gasping and shaking as he stroking along your inner sweet spot with every urgent thrust, your legs shuddering as an electric shock shot through your back. The wet, summoned hand slipped up around to the back of your skull and tangled in your hair so he could pull your head back, his breath beating against the side of your face as he edged you closer and closer to climaxing.

“Tell me, who do you belong to..?” he snarled, his voice popping with static and warbling heavier than usual.

You gasped, panting and groaning as he thrust within you heavily. His hands leaving loving soft bruises at your hips as his hands rammed you down along him, the tension was getting to you as your head swam and drool slipped from your lips. He tore at your hair, tugging your head back farther as you cried out from the act. His voice was low and threatening as a tremor pulsed through the room.

“I asked you a question,  _ cunt. _ ”

His words laced through your skin, the marks upon your flesh burning within you as you gasped and choked out, “Y-you..”

“That's right..” he mused, tilting his face down to nuzzle against the side of your exposed neck as a tremble wove through his panting just as he rammed straight back against your cervix and sent a heavy shudder through your body. Your arms gave out as he lightly stepped forward, your chest up against the wall with your back in a deep arch as you cried out. Tears slipping from your eyes as your intense orgasm shook through your frame, your walls clutching and twisting at his pulsing cock as he buried as deeply as he could within you while snapping his strong jaws around your neck with a deep moan. You could feel his hot seed stinging your abused walls as his magic sparked through the air and popped a light bulb somewhere though you couldn't tell where, you didn't care. The high you were on was indescribable, he held you still with his powerful and sharp jaws as he came within you. He filled your quaking body to the brim as the hot, tar-like essence slipped from you and trailed down the insides of your thighs.

His magic simmered across the flat as your consciousness started to leak back into your brain, panting laboredly and shivering in his arms the skeletal hand slowly unwove it's fingers from your hair and released your head to lull forward as your chest heaved. You moaned his name deep and lowly as he panted and chuckled darkly, the vibrations from his chest pressing into your back as your neighbors recovered from the harsh startle of the lamp literally exploding in the living room. Sans was sweating profusely as he had kicked himself away from the end of the couch and stared at the shattered remnants of the lamp, he felt the magical spike as did everyone and they all stared flabbergasted at the remains of the ceramic and glass that lay peppering the small table and floor.

After a few more moments of your combined panting he carefully lifted your quivering body off of his length, his seed spilling down your thighs as he nestled you back on your feet. You tried to stand but stumbled as your legs gave out beneath you, swiftly the doctor scooped you up into his arms bridal style. Kicking off his pants as he carried you to the back of the flat towards the bedroom. His tongue was out and licking over his teeth tenderly as you gazed up at him and laughed lightly, wrapping your arms up around his neck you nuzzled into the side of his jawline affectionately. A deep rumble sunk through his chest as he tapped the back of Chip's ankles with his foot, sending the cat scampering from the room before the door slammed shut behind you as he tumbled to the bed with you.

You two rolled, laughed and met your lips as you tore the rest of the doctor's clothes off. His lab coat strewn across the floor with his turtleneck off somewhere on the bed next to you while who knew where his boxers were. He laid down over top of you, between your parted legs as your arms laced around the back of his neck while you rolled your tongues eagerly against each other. His body was radiating heat as you slowly slid your long legs along his sides, waist and down the sides of his thighs. You could feel the scars there, the odd bone structures jutting from his sides, hips and shoulders as you caressed him curiously. The first time he had ever truly laid naked with you, the setting sun bathing the room in shimmering gold and auburn light.

Gently you broke away from the kiss and rested your head down against the cool sheets, breathing heavily as he curiously gazed down at you. Meeting his brilliant white eyes against the overlayed red hues in your room from the windows you smiled, touches of golden particles gently swirling in the air above the both of you.

“G..?” you murmured.

He hummed in a response, propping himself up on his elbows as he studied you. That treacherous black scar from the base of his neck down across his chest didn't phase you as you slowly slipped your palms across his broad shoulders, trickling them down to lightly grip at his muscular, tattered biceps.

“What will you do now..?”

He exhaled deeply and smirked, tilting his head, “Why.. my dear, I will take you to 'church',” he snickered.

You laughed and patted the sides of his arms as you drew your legs up and wrapped them around his waist, he gently rested his hips against yours. His shaft twitching against your coated, dripping loins. You shivered at the sensation, feeling sore yet excited you shook of your giggles and continued to murmur.

“ _ Pastor _ Gaster?” you snorted, he didn't find it amusing as he rolled his eyes but you continued to laugh, “You'd give an excellent sermon..”

“Surely, my dear,” he chuckled, pressing his open jaws to yours to intertwine your tongues together. A soft moan pressed from your chest as you peaked up into his eyes that bore down into yours in return. You fondly touched at each other, swiping and licking deeply before you pulled your tongue back and he lifted slightly up and away from you as you sighed.

“Don't call me Shirley,” you grinned, he huffed but a chuckle did waver through his rib cage as he dipped back down to you. Closing your eyes your hands reached back up onto his back as he settled down further atop you. 

Bathing in the setting sun your lips parted to the scientist who drew one of the many moans that would fill this bedroom tonight. Knowing that you were jobless, living on your savings..that you witnessed a murder.. these were just the prices you paid for trying to do the right thing. By standing with your friends. By listening to the call of your soul you had resurrected a dead son.. A damned Father. You had breached the surface of inner purpose as you would no longer grind at a desk job, secluding yourself from the people around you to live in loneliness.

You had brought peace and Justice to the city by believing in second chances, by taking a child's hand and following black moths.. by finding help in the most darkest of places. Laying with a man who lived with the knowledge that his existence was so easily wiped away, for everything that he gave and all the sins he committed.. For the damaged, mutilated body that was granted him that painted a bloody picture of all his wrongdoings, all of his sacrifices. An insight to the trauma he sustained within the void between worlds, both existing and dead. Yet, despite those terrible descriptions.. None of it made a difference to you. You were happy to have been thrown into their world, to be given the opportunities to make things right again. While your adventure had not gone smoothly, while you could have done things differently and would still be working on tattered relationships, adjusting to the new social dynamic of your blossoming social circle.. You were happy to have been thrown amidst monsters.

 

Although. As you felt across the monster's scarred skin as his heavy panting caressed your sensitive flesh you couldn't help but to wonder.. 

What would it be like to live with a Lich?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That wraps up my first ever fan fiction you guys!  
> Thank you for joining me on this wonderful journey, I know I said I would be making the ending neutral but Gaster grabbed my wrists and bashed my hands on this keyboard until all of this happened. Hah!
> 
> I love all of you guys and appreciate each and every view, comment, kudos and subscription. I feel I have made a few friends here and without all of your support pushing me to write better and better at each bomb this would have taken a much longer time to complete.
> 
> But.  
> Ladies and Gentlemen.  
> I smell a sequel.
> 
> So hit that "Subscribe" button so you will get an email notification from me when I finally start uploading the next season which will be titled, "Living with a Lich".  
> Thank you all again, you're all fabulous and I hope you enjoyed the final bomb of Thrown Amidst Monsters. <3


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